Whether you loved the new Hellboy trailer, hated it, or just sat there confused, not knowing what to make of it, there’s no denying that it definitely wasn’t what folks were expecting to see. After a lot of talk about the reboot being a distinctly darker affair than Guillermo del Toro’s cherished take on the antihero, the teaser’s abundance of one-liners set to an ’80s dance pop soundtrack came as a bit of shock to many, while also leaving a lot of people feeling a bit nervous about the upcoming pic.
Nonetheless, actor David Harbour continues to assure us that we’re in for something dark and brutal, telling Empire the following in a recent interview:
“There’s really a sense that you’re actually killing things, even if they are giants or monsters. You’re chopping their heads off, you’re bathing in their blood and you’re feeling the complex feelings of actually cutting the heart out of another thing. We’re taking the time to deal with the fact that Hellboy is a killer. He’s a weapon.”
So, the actor’s saying one thing while the trailer’s showing us another, but given Neil Marshall’s track record of acclaimed horror efforts like Dog Soldiers and The Descent, maybe this is just a case of misleading marketing.
Still, while the preview wasn’t the dark, violent teaser that some fans expected, we do know that the film will 100% be rated R, suggesting that Lionsgate may just be holding back on all the good stuff. After all, this isn’t the fist time Harbour’s assured us of as much. Just a few days ago, he insisted that the new Hellboy “is gory… it’s like a horror movie. There’s a lot of blood in it. It’s brutal.”
Even if that’s the case, it’ll still be tough for Lionsgate to try and fill the void left by del Toro and actor Ron Perlman, and so far, the fans are more skeptical than ever. But there’s still time before Big Red arrives in theaters and we’ll see if the Hellboy reboot can win over the doubters yet when it premiers on April 12th, 2019.
