It’s been a busy day for the world’s greatest paranormal investigator.
On the eve of filming, Lionsgate and Millennium Films conjured up our very first look at David Harbour’s famed anti-hero, replete with an oversized pistol and that signature Fist of Doom. Sporting numerous body scars and a thousand-yard stare, Harbour’s Hellboy is a fairly massive departure from Ron Perlman’s Big Red, whose design was moulded to be slightly more cartoonish to coincide with Guillermo del Toro’s fantastical vision.
And though del Toro’s Hellboy duo is still held in high regard, both Lionsgate and director Neil Marshall have made it clear: the Hellboy of 2018 will mine the darker and more gruesome elements of Mike Mignola’s source material. Just don’t be fooled into thinking that this new take is being angled as an origin story – far from it, according to Harbour. And so, in light of today’s blood-red reveal, a second, monochrome action shot has been summoned onto the interwebs, and it paints Harbour’s hellspawn in a much darker light.
Holy crap, indeed. Rubbing shoulders with David Harbour’s glowering half-demon are Ian McShane, Sasha Lane, Milla Jovovich and, potentially, Daniel Dae Kim, who has come into contention to play Major Ben Daimio. It’s a role that was originally earmarked for Deadpool actor Ed Skrein, who climbed aboard Marshall’s redo late last month before ultimately deciding to part ways with the fantastical project so that the character of Daimio could be portrayed in a fair, culturally accurate manner.
It’s a progressive step in the right direction for Lionsgate’s Hellboy, and after casting light on Harbour’s anti-hero, Neil Marshall and Co. will now begin making the final preparations before production begins. A late 2018 release date is seemingly on the cards, and you can readily expect an appearance from the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense next year.
