Hellboy is the story of a demon, born from a Duke of hell and a witch, who goes on to become a superhero. The reboot comes to cinemas this week and what better way to to get excited about it than to look behind the scenes into the development of the film!
About the film
– Originally the film was supposed to be a sequel to the previous films made in 2004 and 2008. However, creative differences caused Del Toro (director) and Perlman (lead actor) to leave the production causing a delay. Following the rise in popularity of superhero films, it was decided to reboot the film completely rather then continue on from the previous films.
– The film is directed by Neil Marshall. Previous films he has worked on are Doomsday and The Descent.
– The film was highly criticized for casting Ed Skrein as Major Ben Daimio. In the comics the character is Asian which caused angry fans to say the film was ‘whitewashing’ the characters. Following this, Skrein stepped down so the role could “be cast appropriately”. Skrein’s decision to step down is the first time an actor has stepped down from the role due to criticism of this nature.
– In the Del Toro version of the film, Doug Jones played Abe Sapien. He was offered a cameo in the reboot but turned it down. Jones was annoyed at the press for claiming that he had turned down the cameo appearance in support of Del Toro. Jones claimed the reason he was unable to appear was due to scheduling conflicts with Star Trek and an injury.
– Mignola the creator of Hellboy, was more involved in the making of this film compared to the previous films.
– Milla Jovovich worked on the movie due to her being a massive fan of Stranger Things which David Harbour is in, and Deadwood which Ian McShane was in.
– Some fans have argued that this film will be a stronger representation of the comic book compared to the previous films, due to it using monsters from the comic.
– The composer for the film is Benjamin Wallfisch who has also worked on Shazam! and Blade Runner 2049. He has said that the score is “a kind of collision of contemporary EDM, punk rock and orchestral. We were trying to find a sound that conveys the irreverence and physical presence of Hellboy, and also explore the extremes of sonic darkness for his alter-ego, Anung Un Rama”.
About the character
– Hellboy was created by Mike Mignola in 1993. Hellboy featured in a few one offs before getting his own story. Seed of Destruction was published in 1994 by Dark Horse Comics.
– Hellboy is actually only half demon, as the comics say his parents were Azzael who was a Duke of Hell and Sarah Highes who was a witch.
– Hellboy says he is a Capricorn but according to the comic he was born in October, which would make him a Libra.
– Hellboy’s powers include being fireproof (obviously), incredible strength and durability. He also has incredible eyesight, the ability to understand a lot of languages and the power to manipulate his size. In the comics he has been able to sprout wings and full horns, however this has not been shown in the films.
– Hellboy was born in hell.
– The comics show that Hellboy was summoned to Earth in 1944 where he was given the name Hellboy by Professor Trevor Bruttenholm. Hellboy was then taken to New Mexico under Bruttenholm’s care.
– Hellboy has a right hand which is said to be a key to controlling Ogdru Jahad (which would cause the end of the world).
Finally, while this may not be to do with the 2019 version of the film, it was so sweet that it had to be mentioned. In 2012, Perman who played Hellboy in the first film, took on the 4 hour makeup transformation required for him to become Hellboy so that he could fulfill a Make A Wish request for a 6 year old boy who had leukemia. The child was called Zachary and he got to hang out with his favourite superhero for the day and even got his own Hellboy’s makeover thanks to Perlman.
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