Ron Perlman was the first actor to bring Hellboy to life on the big screen, debuting as the Dark Horse Comics character under Guillermo del Toro’s direction in 2004, followed by the two re-teaming for 2008’s Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Although this cinematic story is intended as a trilogy, Hellboy 3 never moved forward, though that hasn’t stopped fans from championing for it over the years. Perlman was, in the end, still keen to make a third Hellboy film, even though he said it was impossible. “71 fucking years old.”
When the first Hellboy movie came out, Ron Perlman was just days shy of turning 54, and as of this writing, he’s three months away from turning 72. Perlman admitted that Hellboy is a physically demanding role and would be more difficult now. The Independent that he’s not “eager” to do Hellboy 3due to his advanced age. That being said, he feels it’s necessary to make one final movie to wrap up this story, saying:
This is our obligation to fans. We should give it to them. It would be an amazing conclusion. So Guillermo, if you’re reading, I’m not done pounding you to get this fucking thing done.
After Prince Nuada Silverlance’s conflict was resolved, Hellboy II: The Golden ArmyThe title character, Liz Sherman and Johann Krauss, along with Abe Sapien and Johann Krauss, resigned from the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. Hellboy also learned from Liz about her twin pregnancy. Alas, in addition to never getting to see these versions of the characters as parents, we never got closure over how it was Hellboy’s destiny as the Beast of the Apocalypse to unleash the Ogdru Jahad and bring about Ragnarok, no matter how hard he pushed against it. Ron Perlman has previously said he hopes the trilogy is finished someday, and even though it would put his body through… well, hell, he’s willing to tackle the threequel with Guillermo del Toro so that fans of the original Hellboy film series finally a proper ending.
However Hellboy II: The Golden ArmyAlthough it received decent reviews, the film made just over $168m worldwide from a budget between $82-85m and $85m. That was a significant factor in Hellboy 3 not being greenlit. A HellboyReboot starring Stranger Things’ David Harbour was released in 2019, but it was a critical and commercial failure, so don’t expect to see that receive a sequel. Unless there’s a different live-action Hellboy project secretly in the works (a Netflix series might be cool), maybe the time has come to revisit making Hellboy 3It is a reality.
Naturally we’ll let you know if there’s any major movement on Hellboy 3But, Guillermo del Toro and Ron Perlman fans can rest assured that they continue to collaborate on other projects. Perlman stars as Bruno in del Toro’s latest movie, Nightmare Alley, and he’s also one of the voices in the filmmaker’s stop-motion animated take on PinocchioNetflix released its first trailer earlier in the week. Perlman can also be seen in Adam McKay’s Don’t Look Up, and he recently didn’t hold back telling off critics who’ve given the movie negative reviews.
Our guide to 2022 movie releases will inform you about the cinematic entertainment that awaits you in 2018.