The mixed reviews for Steven S. Deknight's Pacific Rim: Uprising may be an omen for director Neil Marshall's upcoming reboot of Guillermo del Toro's Movie adaptations of Mike Mignola's Hellboy. Del Toro, who recently won four academy awards for his latest movie The Shape Of Water (including best picture and best director) has finally received recognition for his visionary talent as a filmmaker. It was Del Toro who created, co-wrote with (Travis Beacham) and directed the first Pacific Rim, and it was Del Toro who co-wrote (with Peter Briggs) 2004's Hellboy, starring Ron Perlman in the title role. While Mignola had achieved moderate success with his character in its self-titled comic books (published by Dark Horse Comics), it was undoubtedly Del Toro's movie adaptation and its 2008 sequel Hellboy II: The Golden Army (which he directed and co-wrote with Mignola) that brought the character to the attention of a wider audience. Like with Pacific Rim, Del Toro had worked hard to bring a sequel to The Golden Army to the big screen, but up until his success at this years Academy Awards, many Hollywood studios were cautious and at odds with Del Toro's unique cinematographic style.
Sadly for del Toro fans, the hope of a Hellboy trilogy has been shot down by the recent news that British director Neil Marshall (Dog Soldiers, The Descent, Doomsday) will direct a reboot movie of the Hellboy property which will be co-written by Hellboy creator Mignola (along with Andrew Cosby, Christopher Golden, and Aron Coleite) and see Stranger Things star David Harbour take on the title role (pictured above), supported by Ian McShane (John Wick, American Gods) as Proffessor Trevor Bruttenholm; a role played by the late, great John Hurt in Del Toro's adaptations.
Whereas del Toro's original big screen adaptation featured Rasputin (Karel Roden) as its antagonist, with the Elven Prince Nuada Silverlance (Luke Goss) playing opposite Perlman's Hellboy in The Golden Army, the antagonist for Marshall's reboot is set to be Nimue the Blood Queen, a medieval British sorceress, (inspired by the Lady in the Lake) who will be portrayed by Resident Evil and The Fifth Element star Mila Jovovich. Although it has been known for a while that Jovovich will portray this villainous role, the image below recently posted to Instagram by Jovovich is the first official banner for the upcoming movie.
The Hellboy reboot, simply titled Hellboy is expected to be released in theaters January 11th, 2019. The reboot will also star Sasha Lane, Penelope Mitchell, Daniel Dae Kim, Sophie Okonedo, Alistair Petrie, and Brian Gleeson.
