“Hellboy: The Crooked Man” horror movie rated in R-category

• Taylor indicated that filming for The Crooked Man will begin in April.
• The majority of the film’s shooting will occur in Bulgaria, although it will also travel to Greece.
• Moreover, both on-location and in-studio production will take place.

We discovered last week that Millennium Media and director Brian Taylor were developing a new live-action Hellboy reboot with the working title of Hellboy: The Crooked Man. Given that the series’ value is currently in free fall with the 2019 adaptation starring David Harbour and that the title itself alluded to something entirely different from its predecessors, it came as a bit of a surprise. Collider’s own Steve Weintraub had the opportunity to meet down with Taylor for an exclusive interview to discuss this fresh perspective on Hellboy because the movie was already scripted.

Ron Perlman played the eponymous demonic saviour in the original Guillermo del Toro film that popularized the Hellboy character developed by Mike Mignola. Together, they produced two movies that separated out from the swarm of superhero movies by successfully fusing witty humour with paranormal aspects and a working-class hero.

However, it never received the third movie that del Toro and Perlman had long hoped for, which was made even more upsetting by 2008’s Hellboy II: The Golden Army, which demonstrated how the franchise was only beginning to find its footing. Taylor wants to reimagine the story rather than try (and fail) to reproduce the enchantment that was present in the original with Harbour as the lead. He expressed his passion for the series and his desire to read the darker Crooked Man run of the comics, saying:

“First of all, let me say that I adore the character of Hellboy, and this particular era is my favourite in which he has appeared. The GDT films were grand scale space operas that were wholly authentic to Del Toro. Thoughts for some of the comics Mike (Mignola) was producing at the time were extremely different. Another brutal and eerie folk horror. A more youthful Hellboy, exploring the farthest regions of the globe… Investigator of the paranormal and night stalker A particularly classic book is The Crooked Man, which was written by Mike and illustrated by another legend, Richard Corben. Mid- to late-1950s. It’s my preferred incarnation of the character. The appeal of this one, in my opinion, is to go back to that and completely restart, giving us the Hellboy that, as far as I know, we haven’t yet seen.”

Hellboy encountered 1950s Appalachia when exploring The Crooked Man comics, where he was drawn into a sinister witchcraft case involving Tom Ferrell and his bargain with the local Devil, The Crooked Man. In order to atone for his misdeeds, Ferrell has returned to the place where he initially transformed into a witch. He teams up with Hellboy and a local witch named Cora to go across the mountains to a church in The Crooked Man’s territory. With scenes including cannibalistic witches, the death of Tom’s father, and even the Crooked Man himself, whose actual appearance is nothing short of terrifying, Mignola’s comic book doesn’t hold any punches.

Taylor aspires to remain faithful to Mignola’s original artwork

Taylor affirmed that Mignola and collaborator Christopher Golden wrote the new script. “A draught by Mike and Chris served as our foundation. Odd thing is, I’m trying to make a lot of the changes to be even more true to the original comic book than they were.” According to Taylor, he intends to adapt The Crooked Man comics in a way that both stays true to the source material and focuses on everything he enjoys about the run. “I suppose both are correct, you know? Even though a comic book won’t ever translate perfectly to the big screen, I can assure you that my goal in making the film was to truly honour and bring to life the original comics.”

But maintaining the graphic nature is essential to making The Crooked Man function. There is a chance for Hellboy to stand out with a R classification that would firmly differentiate it from Marvel’s PG-13 dominance by presenting the numerous atrocities that befall Hellboy, Tom, and Cora during their journey up The Hurricane. For Taylor’s benefit, Millennium concurred. “The staff at Millenium has been nothing but supportive of my proposal for an R-rated folk horror film. They are a terrific set of folks who enjoy horror, “Said he. Additionally, he highlighted that everyone involved with the new Hellboy knew that this content required a R rating in order to be done properly:

“We have clearly discussed the fact that making something R for R’s sake doesn’t actually serve anyone. We must add A, B, and C in order to say that it must be R. But, this stuff, which is unique, is violent, dark, and adult. Thus, we just don’t want to have any handcuffs on in order to truly accept that.”

Given that Tom and Cora and Hellboy played equal roles in the original comic book series, Taylor’s announcement that his revival will feature three leads is not surprising. But Cora won’t be the third lead. Along with HB, there’s Tom Ferrell, who comic book readers will be familiar with. Tom Ferrell, he says, was “inspired by Manly Wade Wellman’s John the Balladeer, from Weird Tales, classic pulp folk horror tales from the 1950s and 1960s.” Also, Mike invented a brand-new character for the movie that will come as a surprise.

Taylor could only tease the actors involved in the casting process as to who will play the three leads. The most challenging one might be Hellboy. Harbour was one of the few positive aspects of the 2019 revival, while Perlman handled the part with enough humour and charm to win over viewers and establish him as a legend. It’s difficult to find a new Hellboy with abilities comparable to theirs.

Taylor remarked about the great guy himself: “Everyone is as eager to hear that news as I am. Nonetheless, we have some incredible performers in the running, and the plan is to introduce a younger iteration of Hellboy.” He could only imply that they were almost ready to include the other leads.

Hellboy: The Crooked Man begins filming in April

Taylor indicated that filming for The Crooked Man will begin in April, thus casting announcements will need to be made as soon as possible. The majority of the film’s shooting will occur in Bulgaria, although it will also travel to Greece. Moreover, both on-location and in-studio production will take place. In order to discover locations that properly matched the folk horror tone of the comics as well as the aesthetic of 1950s Appalachia, Taylor teased that substantial scouting was done:

“The idea is to recreate 1950s rural Appalachia, and we’ve been doing a lot of location scouting out here. The locales we’re seeing, I think, would excite fans of the original comic book. Because some of these locations seem to have emerged from the pages themselves. Bulgaria has a lot of eerie forests.”

Taylor agreed wholeheartedly with Weintraub’s analogy of the fast-moving production as a freight train chugging along at top speed, loading up the necessary pieces as it went. “Indeed, that is a freight train. The fact that the movie actually opens on a freight train suggests that you may have had some unusual insight in this case.”

Weintraub finished up by asking him if he had any final words for moviegoers. Taylor argued that this relaunch is coming from a good place because Mignola is directly involved and the filmmaker is a fan:

“I want the viewers to know that Mike and I both genuinely appreciate the source material and the character that he plays in this movie. We’re not attempting to create a brand-new concept for Hellboy; rather, we’re attempting to recreate the atmosphere of these specific volumes from the middle of the aughts. It’s something that hasn’t previously shown on screen, but it’s a version that I believe die-hard Hellboy fans will be interested in seeing. However, I do.”

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