Movies with James Paradie - Hellboy 3: Stop Playing with Our Emotions!

The Hellboy movies (1 and 2) are two of my favorite movies. In my top 15/20, at least. The imagination and effort to stay close to the source material is impeccable to any superhero movie out there. With a solid cast, a solid director, and special effects team, both movies are highly enjoyable. Hellboy 2 also has, in my opinion, beat out the usual "the sequel is not better than the original" stigma. In my opinion, Hellboy 2 is actually better, both in terms of writing and visuals, than its predecessor. 

If you're a Hellboy fan (both comics and movies) like me, you've probably been waiting anxiously for Hellboy 3. For years, since it was made, we've heard some promises that it will happen, it's just going to take some time. With Ron Perlman and Guillmero del Toro busy with other projects, we had to wait patiently for any visible sign that it was going to happen. Perlman and del Toro have been very vocal about wanting to conclude the Hellboy series and (spoiler alert) see Hellboy be the bringer of the apocalypse as foretold to him by the Angel of Death in The Golden Army (the subtitle for Hellboy 2). But ... what happened? 

Time could be a factor. I mean, how long have we been told a Ghostbusters 3 was going to happen? Thirty years? Too much time went by and Sony gave us Ghostbusters: Answer the Call or Feigbusters, as I like to call it. Hellboy 2 is only nine years old, but the problem is, out of sight out of mind. Apparently Universal Studios may feel the same, however, that hasn't been confirmed. 

But the interest is pretty high. Like I said, both Ron Perlman and del Toro have been vocal about doing the third movie. Perlman especially who goes through moments where he drowns us in Hellboy related posts on his Facebook (and trust me, I love it.) Always making mentions to spread the word to have the final movie made. Interests really sparked when both del Toro and Perlman posted this: 

Perlman also posted his own version on Facebook, which yes, I did vote Hell, yes. This caused Hellboy 3 to trend on Facebook, maybe other places too. I only have a Facebook, so I only know about that. But from reading the trend, it seemed like a lot of people were on board. Things were looking up, until recently:

A resounding HELL NO response. I would like to think maybe this is just a way to keep things under wrap; surprise us eventually. But I don't know if del Toro is the prankster type. He seems up front about a lot of things. Like when Konami cancelled Silent Hills, a project he was working on with video game veteran, Hideo Kojima. Fans were pissed off about that, myself included, however it is abundantly clear that it's not a practical joke and not happening. Also, considering that Konami severed ties with Kojima and banned him from attending The Game Awards, but we're not here to talk about that.

So, even though I want to keep my fingers crossed that this is a joke. We're gonna have a laugh about this once we see the trailer for Hellboy 3. We will say, "Oh, del Toro. You prankster son of a bitch!" However, if there is an off set chance that won't be happening. We won't be sharing laughs. Let's say, okay, it's not happening.

There's also the fact that Hellboy creator, Mike Mignola was not very amused by the way del Toro has handled Hellboy 3. This is an excerpt from his interview with French magazine, Le Figaro - do keep in mind, the entirety of the article/interview is written in French, but it is a French magazine after all:

"I was not very happy with the way he did that, just publishing a Tweet. I would have been very pleased to see Guillermo with Ron Perlman, who has played Hellboy on the screen since 2004, and discussing this sequel. Ron and I had seen each other. Then, Guillermo made this [show] on the Internet. I said to myself: “Call me if you want to talk to me, do not go through the Internet, you have my number.” I think we’ve both evolved in separate directions since the second Hellboy. I look forward to seeing what he will do next, but I do not see us working together again. He has his idea for the next Hellboy but, in all sincerity, I do not see him [realizing] the film. Too much water has flowed under the bridges from Hellboy 2."

Unfortunate, but I do agree with Mignola, but I see where del Toro was going with the Tweet, trying to build hype. However, in a Facebook post, he said this:

So, there is hope, at least. I'm not sure what he meant by the different direction comment; new director? New actors? Who knows until it happens? I am intrigued by the TV show idea. Maybe a BPRD spinoff that's still in the del Toro/Hellboy universe? 

But what if THAT doesn't even happen? What then? Are there alternatives?

Sure.

There's the animated route and Hellboy has two animated movies out. Both of which I own. There is:

Sword of Storms 

Has the same cast as the Hellboy movies. All return. Not sure if it's connected to the movies or not, but with the same voice cast as the movies, I'd just say yes. Pretty good movie, however, I like ...

Blood and Iron

I liked Blood and Iron much better. While Sword of Storms was pretty good, the pace was a little eh in some areas. Where Blood and Iron, even if it's slow, it's still creepy enough to keep your interest. 

So, why not use the Hellboy 3 script and just turn it into an animated movie? Well, according to the Hellboy wikia, there was a third animated movie planned, but it has been abandoned. The reason, according Hellboy animated producer, Tad Stones, that the project would happen all depended on how well Hellboy 2 did. Even though it made its $85 million dollar budget back and then a little more, I guess it wasn't enough to promise another animated feature. Which is probably why this isn't a route for a Hellboy 3 either. What else? 

Comics! 

Hellboy started out as a comic, so why not do Hellboy 3 as a comic? The only problem is what Mike Mignola said in both the French interview and the Facebook post. It seems Mignola wants to stay away from del Toro for now. I guess that's nixed. 

Truth is ... 

Universal/del Toro/Mignola should have hit while the iron was still hot as hell. I know all had projects to finish, so they do have a good excuse, but I think if they worked on it immediately or shorter after Hellboy 2 finished, they would've accomplished giving us a final installment. Like I said earlier, there are alternatives, but with all the involved parties having other projects on their hands, it almost looks like another Ghostbusters 3 debacle. It will be brought up every now and then, it's filming, it's filming, they're waiting for someone to sign on, etc. etc. but it will remain in developmental hell. I hope this doesn't happen. I hope they come to an understanding that Hellboy 3 should happen and it has the potential to be very successful. It's just getting all their cards on deck. 

It would be a HELL of a movie! 

Okay, I'm done with the hell puns.