In Hollywood, the anticipation surrounding reboots and adaptations has often stirred mixed emotions among the fans. Now the newly released trailer of Hellboy: The Crooked Man has further intensified the fears of those who cherished Guillermo del Toro’s vision for the Hellboy movies.
The unwanted reboot is further driving the beloved franchise to the ground, with some even comparing it to the box office failure of movies like Madam Web and Argylle.
Hellboy: The Crooked Man Trailer Casts a Dark Shadow on Guillermo del Toro’s Legacy
Guillermo del Toro helmed the initial two movies, Hellboy (2004) and Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008). After the second movie, the entire franchise had been stuck in development issues. Further, del Toro was supposed to helm the third installment as well, but the plan for the same fell through.
After which Millennium Media bought the rights and released 2019’s reboot helmed by Neil Marshall. The movie, which was initially named Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen (later named Hellboy), bombed at the box office and received poor reviews. Given this, the fans were quite skeptical when they heard that another attempt to reboot the series was taking place.
Further, the newly released trailer has only reinforced their doubts, and they went on X to express their dissatisfaction. From drawing comparisons between the trailer to flop movies like Argylle and Madam Web and exposing the subpar visuals in the teaser, fans had a lot of things to add under Discussing Film’s post.
JESUS! This makes Argylle or Madame Web look like a Best Picture winner. 😳
— Peter Rabbit’s Award Buzz (@PeterRabbit_4DX) July 28, 2024
My Hellboy 😭. Sorry to me that looked awful. 💀 pic.twitter.com/hFlrwwptks
— CMac (@TurtleMac24) July 28, 2024
Nobody's watching this
— The Human Rebuild 🤝🏾 (@thehumanrebuild) July 28, 2024
We failed this movie. pic.twitter.com/OuVNEZ33Dh
— Hollywood After Dark (@HWADPodcast) July 28, 2024
Marginally better trailer than the last one. Looks very cheap and not very stylized. The one thing I really think you need in a HELLBOY is some stylization. This just feels so cold and bleak.
— Memes and Models (@MemesAndModels) July 28, 2024
Really do not understand how Del Toro / Perlman ever got taken off this series
The upcoming third installment will follow the story arc of ‘The Crooked Man’ comic book written by Mike Mignola. The movie set in the 1950’s will take the audience on an adventurous journey to the isolated mountains of Appalachia.
It will follow the plotline of Hellboy and a novice BPRD agent named Tom Ferrell as they encounter a small community haunted by witches. Further, this community is led by a devil who has a unique and mysterious connection to Hellboy’s own past.
Is Hellboy: The Crooked Man the Most Faithful Adaptation of the Comics?
The upcoming reboot may be a point of contention among the fans, but Mike Mignola had only good things to add about the movie. During an interview at San Diego Comic-Con (via Screen Rant), Mignola expressed his excitement about the movie being true to its comic book roots and source material. He added:
[My favorite thing was] to see how close it is to the comics. There are several shots in there that are panels from the comics and your fear is always, especially when you say it’s gotta be my favorite story, that it’s going to lose something. But all my favorite moments from the comic are in there.
I mean, you’re holding your breath as you’re watching this. I actually got to watch, I didn’t go on set, but I saw dailies, and you’re just going, “I can’t believe this! Oh my God, you got it in there and is it going to stay in there when they cut the movie?”
The author’s comments can be taken as a positive note given the mixed reviews the trailers have received for the upcoming reboot. Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy movies had taken a lot of creative decisions that were different from the comics.
For instance, in the movie Hellboy (Ron Pearlman), was shown to be in a relationship with his friend and co-worker Liz Sherman (Selma Blair), which ultimately resulted in the duo having twins. In the movie, del Toro brought a romantic aspect to their relationship, which in the comics was more of a platonic one (via Collider).
In the upcoming Hellboy: The Crooked Man, the cast includes Jack Kesy as Hellboy, Adeline Rudolph, Joseph Marcell, Leah McNamara, Hannah Margetson, Marin Bassindale, and Jefferson White.
You can rent the Hellboy movies on Apple TV. Further, the release date for Hellboy: The Crooked Man is yet to be announced by the makers.
