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The Hellboy Reboot Will Tone Down Superhero Elements, Focus More on Horror and Folklore


Hellboy has always been one of the more interesting comic book properties out there, being able to jump freely between a number of genres and having plenty of spin-off titles. It's clear that Mike Mignola has created an interesting world, one that he keeps on expanding with various new stories.

Mignola recently had the chance to speak with io9 about the upcoming R rated movie starring David Harbour of Stranger Things fame. The comic book creator spoke candidly about the 2019 reboot, noting that it would feel different from any of the Marvel and DC movies that have come out in recent memory.

"Well, I mean, if anything, we're trying to do something very different. Basically, there's no part of Hellboy that was ever going to be like other superhero movies. And the more Marvel stuff there is, the more DC stuff there is, Hellboy never really feels like—even in the [Guillermo] del Toro things—a superhero movie. It's so much "big teams of guys, in costumes, running around and saving the world from big cosmic menace stuff..." I believe the new movie will feel even less like a regular superhero thing. The idea with this one was to make it play much less like a superhero film, to downplay the superhero elements even more than del Toro did. This one is much more folklore/mythology/horror, and not "big team rushing into to do battle with whatever kind of stuff."

While the characters from Marvel and DC originated from classic superhero stories, Hellboy has always been a bit more diverse. Occasionally mixing up horror with noir, folklore, mythology, and even comedy, there is always a lot to draw from. Since the horror and folklore side of the coin is what next year's film is going for, it will be interesting to see if it will succeed.

Fans remain split on the 2019 reboot, with some hoping it will be more faithful to the comics, while others were hoping Guillermo del Toro and Ron Perlman would have another crack at it. Guess we'll see what happens next year.

Hellboy comes out on January 11, 2019.

Read:First Hellboy Reboot Banner Shared By Milla Jovovich

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