While not everyone has been loving the new ‘Hellboy‘ trailer, it is getting more positive reviews than negative and honestly looks to be closer to the source material compared to the original films. If you loved the comics, chances are you’re curious as to how this new movie is going to play out from the early previews. Now, character creator Mike Mignola shares his thoughts on how David Harbour‘s take on Big Red differs from Ron Perlman’s and what these fundamental changes will mean for the movie.
According to Mignola:
“[David Harbour’s Hellboy is] a little bit more dramatic. There’s a different edge. [Ron Perlman] was very smooth as Hellboy, and there’s a whole different love interest vibe with Ron’s thing. Ron was almost playing this kind of old adolescent. And Harbour plays a grittier Hellboy, and a bit more explosive, emotionally. It’s hard to explain, but it is a very different take. The beauty is, both of them, in their own way, feel like Hellboy. It’s almost like they’re just tipped it in two different directions. There’s something much gnarlier about David’s Hellboy.”
Some viewers haven’t appreciated the “gnarlier” take on the character from the first trailer, and hopefully, that’ll change as more come out. In the Guillermo del Toro films we’re seeing a Hellboy who is newer at his job while we’re being told that the new take on the character has actively been working with the B.P.R.D. for some time and is already becoming the world-weary version from the comics.
Mignola explains it as:
“In the del Toro films, Hellboy is kind of penned up, and kept secret, and that is not what we have here [in the upcoming film]. This is truer to the comic, in that Hellboy’s been out in the world. He’s not a top-secret, hidden away guy. He’s an out-there-in-the-world, functioning, working adult. So you’ve got that working stiff, been there, done that vibe with Harbour, that you just couldn’t have with Ron because it was played so differently. [With Harbour’s Hellboy] there’s a little bit more angsty, find-your-place-in-the-world, a frustration with his role.”
I’m eager to see how this is portrayed as a feature film and what it will mean for this take on the character when he learns exactly who and what he is.
“We didn’t want to retell the original, the first Hellboy book, because del Toro had done that. So looking for a new entryway into the Hellboy world, and taking this big, three-book arc, going to that story, gave us a new place to start, and it gave us a large story, so hopefully, after this film, we can continue in this big arc that I established in the comics.”
Personally, as a fan of the comics and the world which Mignola has created, I’m dying to see another preview. If all goes well, I’d love to be able to see this full story fleshed out in a live-action format and potentially expand with other adventures of characters from the B.P.R.D. as well.
What did you think of the new take on ‘Hellboy’? Do you agree with Mike Mignola on the direction which they decided to take the upcoming film? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
‘Hellboy’ will rise into your local theater on April 12th, 2019! It stars David Harbour, Milla Jovovich, Ian McShane, Sasha Lane, Daniel Dae Kim, and Thomas Haden Church.
Source: IGN
