Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy franchise has achieved cult-status over the years. Which means that obviously, we've been both excited and nervous about what's to come with Neil Marshall's 2019 reboot of Hellboy [1], since it stands on the shoulder of a beloved giant. The new movie about Mike Mignola's iconic half-demon takes on a darker R-rated tone, featuring Stranger Things [2]' beloved David Harbour in the title role [3]. Del Toro and Ron Perlman, the original Hellboy, won't be involved in the upcoming film. Still, they've sent their blessings to the new cast [4] and crew — for the most part, anyway.
The original Hellboy film franchise as we knew it ended in 2008 with the release of Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Del Toro had been planning on making a trilogy, but as of 2017, confirmed on Twitter that Hellboy 3 would not happen [5]. And since the upcoming movie is a remake and not a sequel, it won't be starring the original cast, which includes Perlman.
When Marshall officially joined the reboot, he sought Del Toro's blessing, since he respected the renowned director as a friend and fellow filmmaker. Marshall relayed to Collider that in a brief exchange, Del Toro had said [6] to him, "'I'm totally cool with it. I'm totally magnanimous about it.'"
Perlman previously voiced his disappointment [7] about Hellboy 3 getting cut, but has been supportive of the upcoming film. At Motor City Comic Con [8], he wished Harbor the best of luck with the new movie, saying, "David Harbour is a good dude. I wish him nothing but the best when it comes to the retooling of HB."
Still, Perlman wasn't above being a little playful about the situation, notably posting this picture [9] on his Instagram when the reboot trailer [10] came out.
View this post on Instagram[11]
Harbour has been aware of how big Perlman's shoes are to fill. So for him, the reboot hasn't been a matter of living up to the original Hellboy legacy as it is carving out his own unique take. "We're gonna do something just completely different and we're gonna highlight a different aspect of this guy," he said in an interview with Collider [13]. "I can't do what Ron Perlman does. I think he's a genius at what he does: this very dry machismo thing. In terms of approaching the character, I have to do it my own way."