2019 film by Neil Marshall
Hellboy is a 2019 superhero film based on the Dark Horse Comics character of the same name, created by Mike Mignola. A reboot of the "Hellboy" film series, it is the third live-action entry in the franchise; directed by Neil Marshall, the film stars David Harbour in the title role, alongside Milla Jovovich, Ian McShane, Sasha Lane, Daniel Dae Kim, and Thomas Haden Church. The film draws inspiration from the comic books ', ', "", and "Hellboy in Mexico". In the film, Hellboy struggles with his psyche while preventing a resurrected sorceress from conquering the world.
The project began as a sequel to "" (2008), with screenwriter Andrew Cosby and Mignola writing the script. Guillermo del Toro was not offered the full writer-director role he had performed in the previous films, and Ron Perlman, who had portrayed Hellboy, refused to return without del Toro's involvement. The project was turned into an R-rated reboot after Marshall was hired as the director and Harbour cast as Hellboy. Principal photography began in September 2017 in the United Kingdom and Bulgaria, and ended in December.
"Hellboy" had its premiere in New York City on April 9, 2019, and was released in the United States on April 12, by Lionsgate. The film received negative reviews from critics, with criticism aimed at the story, inconsistent tone, and excessive gore, along with unfavorable comparisons to the del Toro films, but praise for the make-up effects and Harbour's performance. The film bombed at the box office after grossing $55.1 million against a $50 million production budget.
A second reboot of the film series, titled "", was released in 2024.
Plot.
In 517 A.D., the evil Blood Queen, Vivienne Nimue, unleashes a plague on England until King Arthur thwarts her with the aid of Ganeida, a member of her coven. Arthur uses Excalibur to dismember Nimue and hides her remains across England. In present-day Tijuana, Mexico, paranormal investigator Hellboy accidentally kills missing agent Esteban Ruiz, who has been transformed into a vampire, during a wrestling match. After hearing Ruiz's dying words, prophesying that the end is coming, Hellboy is brought back to the B.P.R.D. in Colorado. He is assigned by B.P.R.D. leader Trevor Bruttenholm, his adoptive human father, to assist the Osiris Club in hunting three giants in Great Britain. The club's seer, Lady Hatton, reveals Bruttenholm was meant to kill Hellboy when he came into the human world as a result of the Nazis' Project Ragna Rok but instead raised him. Meanwhile, a pig-like fairy known as Gruagach is advised by the witch Baba Yaga to retrieve Nimue's limbs so that she may grant his wish for revenge against Hellboy.
During the hunt, Hellboy is betrayed and nearly killed by the hunters before they are ambushed by the giants. Hellboy fights and kills the giants until he collapses from exhaustion, only to be rescued by a young woman. He awakens in her flat, recognizing her as Alice Monaghan, a medium he once rescued from fairies as a baby. Sending a team to retrieve Hellboy, Bruttenholm introduces Hellboy to M11 agent Ben Daimio and relays that Nimue's remains have been taken, and the last piece is stored at the Osiris Club. Finding the club slain, Alice channels Hatton's spirit, who reveals that Nimue seeks Hellboy to cause the apocalypse. Nimue's arm is taken by Gruagach, and Nimue distracts Hellboy by appealing to his frustrations, allowing Gruagach to escape. Hellboy reveals that Gruagach is a changeling who took baby Alice's place before Hellboy branded him with iron and forced him to return Alice, which led to Gruagach hating Hellboy for taking his chance to be human.
Daimio takes them to M11 headquarters before secretly acquiring a special bullet to kill Hellboy. After an argument with Bruttenholm about his adoption, Hellboy angrily storms off until he is magically transported to Baba Yaga's house. Having shot out Baba Yaga's eye, Hellboy is talked into giving up one of his eyes for Nimue's location. Hellboy reneges on the deal and is cursed to lose a loved one. On the way to Nimue's location at Pendleton, Daimio reveals to Alice that he was the sole survivor of a demonic jaguar attack.
Nimue fully restores herself and kills her coven, but spares Ganeida. Hellboy attempts to stop her, but is overwhelmed. Nimue poisons Alice and flees, as Ganeida directs Hellboy to the resting place of Merlin to save Alice. After Merlin cures Alice and puts her and Daimio to sleep, he reveals that Hellboy is "Anung un Rama", the firstborn male heir of Arthur through his mother, who was spirited to Hell by his father. When offered Excalibur, Hellboy refuses after seeing a vision of himself causing the apocalypse, while Merlin, having exhausted his magic, disintegrates.
Meanwhile, Nimue attacks M11 and abducts Bruttenholm as the group follows her to St Paul's Cathedral. Hellboy battles an empowered Gruagach aided by Daimio in his jaguar form. However, Nimue betrays and kills Gruagach and propels Hellboy into Arthur's hidden tomb that holds Excalibur. Nimue kills Bruttenholm and an enraged Hellboy pulls out the sword, allowing demons to emerge from Hell. Alice channels Bruttenholm's spirit to appeal to Hellboy's humanity, allowing him to decapitate Nimue and toss her head into Hell after the demons are sent back. Hellboy and Bruttenholm exchange farewells and Daimio discards the special bullet.
Six months later, Hellboy, Daimio and Alice raid the Oannes Society where they find the water tank of Abe Sapien. In a mid-credits scene, Hellboy is consoled at Bruttenholm's grave by the ghost of his hero Lobster Johnson. In a post-credits scene, Baba Yaga enlists an unseen force to seek out Hellboy with the promise of allowing him to finally die.
Cast.
Additionally, Mario de la Rosa plays Esteban Ruiz / Camazotz, Ava Brennan and Anthony Delaney play Alice's mother and father, respectively. Atanas Srebrev and Dawn Sherrer appear as Agent Madison and Agent Strode, respectively, while Markos Rounthwaite plays Grigori Rasputin and Vanessa Eicholz appears as Ilsa Hepstein. Ilko Iliev plays Professor Doctor Karl Ruprect Kroenen, Joel Harlow portrays Von Krupt, Dimiter Banenkin plays Leopold Kurtz, and Kristina Klebe portrays Leni Riefenstahl.
Production.
Development.
In 2014, "Hellboy" creator Mike Mignola began work with writer Andrew Cosby on the story for a new film. The project was initially intended as a sequel to Guillermo del Toro's films "Hellboy" and "", which starred Ron Perlman as the title character. Del Toro was offered a producer credit, but declined, wishing instead to direct his own script for "Hellboy III", and Perlman refused to return without del Toro's involvement. When Neil Marshall joined, it was decided that the new film would instead be a reboot. Marshall signed on to direct the film due to not making a feature film in nine years and also being initially intrigued by the horror pitch. In May 2017, Mignola announced on his personal Facebook page that the reboot, then titled "Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen", would be directed by Marshall and star David Harbour as the eponymous character. Mignola also stated that the film would have an R-rating. At the time, it was targeted for a 2018 release. Andrew Cosby had stated that the film would be a "darker, more gruesome version of Hellboy". Harbour further elaborated on the film's R-rating, "This movie is gory, I mean it's like a horror movie. There's a lot of blood in it. It's brutal."
Mignola said that he would have minimal involvement with the reboot, acting more as a "co-executive producer" and without participating in pre-production or design, stating, "When the decision was made to do another movie, I got involved, basically saying, 'If you're going to do that story, don't do this, or that, change this, and that.' I helped to steer it. Christopher Golden and I did write a couple of drafts of the screenplay and got it on track, and then the decision was made to do a reboot." In August 2017, the film dropped the subtitle "Rise of the Blood Queen" and was re-titled simply "Hellboy".
Writing.
When the project was announced, it was revealed that Mignola had written early drafts with Andrew Cosby and Christopher Golden, and that Mignola would develop a new draft with Aron Eli Coleite. On the tone of the film, Cosby stated, "Neil said from the very beginning that he wanted to walk a razor's edge between horror and comic book movie, which was music to my ears, because that's what I was shooting for in the script, and precisely what Mignola does so well with the comics." Mignola confirmed that the film draws inspiration from ', ', and "", but also pulls "bits and pieces from other stories", such as "Hellboy in Mexico". Mignola did not want to make another origin story, feeling that del Toro had already succeeded with that story. Mignola felt the three-book arc gave the filmmakers an "entryway" back into the world of Hellboy and allowed them to expand beyond the comic. A poster with final credits revealed Cosby retained sole screenwriter credit.
Creature design.
Makeup designer Joel Harlow wanted to make the monsters and settings of Hellboy "believable within the context of the world they inhabit". The design team attempted not to reference the designs of the del Toro films and took inspiration from the comics. Harlow attempted to stay faithful to the source material, and consulted with Mignola on any new designs to make sure they matched the tone of the comics. Harlow added Harbour's facial features into the initial Hellboy maquette sculpt to capture his likeness into the character. Harlow felt Harbour's Hellboy gave an "imposing presence" after the makeup and body suit were applied.
For the horned version of Hellboy, Harlow chose to make that version an "amped up" design of the regular horned Hellboy, stating, "We gave him a larger jaw, a heavier brow, a more vibrant yellow eye look, larger teeth and, of course, extremely large horns." Harlow wanted "real-world representations" of the horned version by adding scars, feeling they made Hellboy feel gritty, and were appropriate for an R-rated version of the character. The decision for a lack of a top-knot was due to this version of Hellboy being portrayed younger than the comic iteration. For the creatures of Hell, Harlow wanted them to look different from the film's other beasts, stating, "Their look is entirely nonhuman and very frightening. It's a glimpse into a world of beings that do not follow the anatomical laws of anything terrestrial."
Casting.
David Harbour was the first actor to be cast for the film, in the role of Hellboy. In August 2017, Ian McShane was added as Trevor Bruttenholm. On August 8, 2017, Milla Jovovich was cast as the main antagonist, the Blood Queen, and on August 15, 2017, Sasha Lane was set to play Alice Monaghan. On August 21, Ed Skrein was cast as Ben Daimio; however, Skrein voluntarily dropped out of the film on August 28 following accusations of "whitewashing" the role he was set to play, stating, "It is clear that representing this character in a culturally accurate way holds significance for people, and that to neglect this responsibility would continue a worrying tendency to obscure ethnic minority stories and voices in the Arts. I feel it is important to honor and respect that. Therefore, I have decided to step down so the role can be cast appropriately." On August 30, 2017, Penelope Mitchell joined the cast as Ganeida.
In September 2017, Daniel Dae Kim was cast to replace Skrein in the role of Daimio. Kim has praised Skrein for dropping the role, stating, "I applaud the producers and, in particular, Ed Skrein for championing the notion that Asian characters should be played by Asian or Asian American actors." The two later met and became acquainted, with Kim saying, "Thanks for the opportunity to get to know each other in person. Grateful to now call you 'friend'." In November 2018, it was revealed that Thomas Haden Church had a role in the film as vigilante Lobster Johnson. The same month, it was also announced that Stephen Graham and Douglas Tait portray the fairy Gruagach, with Graham as the voice and Tait providing the in-camera performance. Doug Jones (who had played Abe Sapien in the del Toro films) was offered a cameo but was unable to participate due to commitments to "".
Filming.
"Hellboy" began principal production in September 2017