Hellboy reboot will be darker and more gruesome, says screenwriter

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

By now you’re well aware of the fact Neil Marshall is overseeing a HELLBOY reboot, with Stranger Things’ gruff Sheriff Hopper in talks to slap on the red make-up for the lead role. It would seem most people are bummed we’re not getting a HELLBOY 3 from Guillermo del Toro, but if we’re all honest with ourselves, it has long been clear that project was never going to take off. Reboots are what’s up right now.

In addition to the news of a brand new take on the material, we learned the film will be rated R; that came straight from Hellboy creator Mike Mignola, who is penning the script with Andrew Cosby and Christopher Golden. Now we’re getting further confirmation that this one won’t be for the little kiddies from Cosby, who spoke to Silver Screen Beat about the film.

Here’s Cosby telling the site how dark this flick will be:

I can’t really talk about specifics with regard to the story, which they’re keeping a pretty tight lid on at the moment, but I can say that this is a darker, more gruesome version of Hellboy. Neil said from the very beginning that he wanted to walk a razor’s edge between horror and comic book movie, which was music to my ears, because that’s what I was shooting for in the script, and precisely what Mignola does so well with the comics.”

Cosby also revealed the script is already done, so this thing may be moving forward quickly:

Honestly, everyone has just been working overtime to bring that Mignola magic to the big screen. The script is done, but work will continue as we move forward, always trying to make it the best it can be.”

It’s already obvious this HELLBOY will avoid the somewhat funky, fantasy-minded vision of the del Toro films and go “gritty.” And that’s just as well; you don’t want to see someone attempt del Toro if it isn’t del Toro himself.

Marshall has walked the razor’s edge between horror and comic book movie before with stuff like DOG SOLDIERS and DOOMSDAY, so this iteration of HELLBOY does indeed sound up his alley.

Oh, and here’s a blast from the past: