There are filmmakers out there that bring wild and vivid imagination to life in the most incredible ways. One of my favorite creative minds in the world of cinema is the great Guillermo del Toro. In fact, I love nearly everything the man has ever brought to the silver screen. From the magnificence of THE SHAPE OF WATER to other classics such as PAN’S LABYRINTH and THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE, he has a way of bringing genre to life in magical ways. In fact, I even love and admire films like CRIMSON PEAK and PACIFIC RIM – although I appreciated the later more with a second watch. This artist of a man brings nightmares to life in bold and stunningly beautiful ways. With all his amazing work, it would be impossible to not bring up the hilarious and thrilling adventures of HELLBOY (2004) and its awesome sequel, HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY (2008). And now, we are finally getting another HELLBOY… just not the one fans were originally hoping for.
Years after THE GOLDEN ARMY arrived, critics and fans alike were wondering when we’d get a sequel to the red devil of a hero. Clearly del Toro had ideas, and Ron Perlman, Selma Blair and Doug Jones would have certainly been happy to return. Sadly it didn’t happen. To be fair, while the film did make money, it didn't make enough for the studio to guarantee a third film. When a movie that has this much acclaim only manages to make less than half of its budget back, it is highly unlikely that you’d get a sequel. However, I think many of us figured that del Toro would be able to make it happen. This felt like a story that only he could tell, therefore, why would we want any other storyteller to take over and bring HELLBOY to life? Well, all these years later, Guillermo has moved on and found himself a double Academy Award winner for another vibrant fantasy. Sure it would be especially nice to see what he could do with the character now, but perhaps another version isn’t a terrible idea.
Of course I wasn’t too keen on another HELLBOY not directed by Guillermo. In many ways, it felt like I was going against him if I felt any sort of delight for a new movie without him involved. When the project was officially announed, I was truly disappointed at the prospect of another filmmaker taking this on. And even the amazing support that both Blair and Jones made seemed foolhardy to attempt to replicate. Sure it has been over a decade since the release of HELLBOY II, but perhaps I was just waiting for a miracle to happen. But there was no miracle. And while I didn’t necessarily dislike the first trailer to come out for the upcoming return, I felt a tinge of anger. However, there was also a part of me that was disappointed in my own reaction as well. After all, I try very hard not to completely dismiss a film from simply a bad trailer or image early on. For me, I’d rather give a movie a bit more of an opportunity to work than that.
Another factor that had me thinking was simply the talent involved in the new film. The cast is pretty exceptional. David Harbour is a fantastic actor, and I’m not even that huge of a Stranger Things fan. However, he is great in it, and every other project I’ve seen him in has impressed me quite a bit. You also have a few exciting supporting players like Daniel Dae Kim, Ian McShane, Thomas Haden Church and Kristina Klebe. And then there is Milla Jovovich. While I do realize that most of the RESIDENT EVIL movies are far from great, I’ve pretty much been a fan the whole way through simply because of Milla. And the idea of watching her play Nimue the Blood Queen seems to be about a cool as you can get. So you have a great cast, what else you got? Well, I’d say having the wonderfully talented Neil Marshall directing is about as promising as you can get without del Toro attached. Plus, you have an R-rating to keep the gore and F-bombs flying? Well perhaps there is more hope than I had anticipated.
Last week, I had the opportunity to see the brand new Red Band trailer for the upcoming film a couple of hours before it was unveiled to the world. While the first look at it wasn’t as compelling as I’d hoped, the latest look at HELLBOY did exactly what a good preview is supposed to do… it had me hook, line and sinker. Somehow, all these elements together have restored my sense of excitement for the new film. And during my time at Sony talking to both Mike Mignola and Ms. Jovovich about what we had just watched, it became increasingly clear that we may have something special. Mike even mentioned to me that much of the magic that was in the comics, will be in the new film. And frankly, getting to see more of Milla’s Blood Queen has my expectations much higher than I had originally thought they could ever be.
Maybe it’s the booze talkin’, but the new HELLBOY officially has our attention! If you had asked me if I looked forward to it months ago, I would have told you it wasn’t even on my radar. And now, with a badass new trailer, and the level of talent that signed on, it has become one of my most anticipated films of the year. While I still wonder and wish we could have seen a third film from Guillermo, I’m happy to say that perhaps we will be getting something that is great gory fun, with a ton of humor in the mix. Could it simply be that I’ve officially resigned myself that we will not see Ron Perlman perfectly capture this beast of a man and his ridiculously funny humor? Perhaps. Yet after seeing a bit more of what we can look forward to, and a bit of a twisted take on a seemingly weird romance courtesy of Milla and David, I’m in. It certainly is too early for a verdict, but frankly, I’m very impressed with what the latest look at HELLBOY delivered. What do you think? Are you ready to embrace this devilish hero?