‘Hellboy: The Crooked Man’ Wraps Filming – Here’s What We Know So Far
Anung Un Rama is giving live-action another shot – with creator Mike Mignola adapting fan favorite ‘Hellboy: The Crooked Man‘ for the screen.
The two live-action movies directed by Guillermo del Toro that star Ron Perlman as the titular anti-hero are loved by fans across the globe. The 2019 reboot with David Harbour, directed by Neil Marshall, was not loved and ended up being a flop. Dark Horse Entertainment and Millennium Media have decided to give it another shot, hoping they’ll catch some of the magic of del Toro’s movies with one of the comic’s best stories – Hellboy: The Crooked Man.
Hellboy: The Crooked Man expands “Hellboy’s world through one of the most beloved issues of the comic series.” The three-part story was published in 2008 and is regarded as one of the best in the comic’s history. Hellboy and a rookie BRPD agent get stranded in a small town in 1950s Appalachia. There they discover a community haunted by witches that a devil leads. A devil that has a connection to Hellboy’s past–the Crooked Man. In a former life, the devil was Jeremiah Witkins, an eighteenth-century war profiteer hanged for his crimes. He’s returned from Hell to collect a debt.
via Dark Horse
Hellboy: The Crooked Man – What We Know About the Movie
Creator Mike Mignola and his frequent comic book collaborator, Chris Golden, wrote the adaptation. This will mark the first time Mignola has been involved in a live-action Hellboy movie at this level. It does lend credibility to the project. Director Brian Taylor (Crank, Happy) explained why they chose this particular story in an interview with Collider.
“So first of all, I love the character of Hellboy and my favorite run of the character is this particular era. The GDT movies were massive scale space operas and just pure Del Toro through and through. But some of the comics Mike (Mignola) was doing at the time had a very different feeling. More lean and mean, creepy folk horror. A younger Hellboy, wandering the dark corners of the world… Paranormal investigator, night stalker…
“The Crooked Man in particular is just such an iconic book—written by Mike, drawn by Richard Corben, another legend. Set in the late 50s. For me it’s my favorite version of the character. So the appeal of this one to me, is to go back to that and do a real reset, and really give us that version of Hellboy, which I just don’t think we’ve seen yet.”
Taylor also mentioned that one of his goals is to stick to the comics as much as possible. All of this sounds better than the foundation of 2019’s Hellboy, which drew inspiration from all over the comic’s nearly 30-year existence. The lack of focus led to a muddy story with major tone problems.
via Darkhorse
The biggest challenge when it comes to making a Hellboy movie is finding the right actor. Ron Perlman was the perfect mix of badass, humor, and ability to act with a bunch of prosthetics. While David Harbour had to deal with a bad script, he bulked up and looked the part. Jack Kesy is taking the role in Hellboy: The Crooked Man. He’s got a different look from the last two actors, and he’s 37 (Perlman was 53 and Harbour was 44) – but this is a younger, different sort of Hellboy. It’s hard to make any comments on the choice until we see him in costume, but he was good in Deadpool 2, and his role in The Strain proves he can handle makeup. We shall see.
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According to Mike Mignola’s Instagram, they have finished filming, and the project is on its way to post-production. Maybe we’ll see it early next year.
“So they’ve wrapped principal photography on the new HELLBOY movie. I wasn’t on set for this one but they have been nice enough to send me dailies and I have to say I have loved what I’ve been seeing. If fans have been waiting for a Hellboy film that is actually an adaptation of one of my stories I think they are finally going to get one.
“Congratulations to director Brian Taylor and a really wonderful cast—and to co-writer Chris Golden who did so much to figure out how to give the studio what they wanted and still keep true to the heart and soul of THE CROOKED MAN, my favorite of the Hellboy stories. I wish Richard Corben was still around to see this—they did a wonderful job bringing his really horrific character to life.”
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This could be good – this doesn’t have to follow in the footsteps of one bad movie. I’m looking forward to the first photos and trailers.
