‘Hellboy’ Director Neil Marshall Doesn’t Think The Character Is Meant For The Big Screen
The only filmmaker who has been able to flawlessly bring Mike Mignola’s Hellboy to the big screen, and with acclaim, was Guillermo Del Toro who teamed with Ron Perlman to translate the comics into cinema in 2004 and 2008.
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Nobody knows this better than Neil Marshall who signed on for the 2019 reboot starring David Harbour. Unlike Del Toro, Marshall didn’t strike gold as his version, which was more of a job to him than a passion project anyway, wasn’t received well.
It’s a career regret for the Dog Soldiers creator that taught him valuable lessons – one of which is a little surprising. Marshall’s attitude toward how seamlessly and effectively Hellboy conforms to the moving picture has changed.
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“Maybe not, yeah. It could be that it’s not meant for the screen in that sense or in a way that translates from the comic books,” he said when speaking to ComicBookMovie writer Josh Wilding about the failed reboot and his upcoming movie, Duchess.
“I love Guillermo’s movies. I’m not that super loyal to the comic books in the sense that I treat them in their own right. I think they’re good movies because Guillermo is an excellent director and, visually, they’re stunning,” Marshall continued.
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Conversely, he is noticing a following develop around his 2019 misstep. “I did my best and what I could with what I had under difficult circumstances, but even now, I was just down in Spain for a film festival and I had loads of people come up to me asking about Hellboy. They screened the film there and, who knows, maybe it will grow a little fanbase,” he recalled.
The Right Hand of Doom is taking another swing at theatrical greatness in the latest reboot. Hellboy: The Crooked Man stars Jack Kesy as the titular demon and is directed by Brian Taylor, one of the filmmakers behind Crank and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.
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