Hellboy has had many faces, but the fight against the supernatural never stops, and who better to take it on than our favorite red superhero? This year, Jack Kesy (12 Strong) becomes the third actor to portray Mike Mignola’s Hellboy on the big screen, debuting in the first trailer for Hellboy: The Crooked Man.
The trailer begins with picturesque shots of the Appalachian landscape—trees, rocks, and rolling hills. However, the peaceful scenery quickly gives way to a sense of dread. “Smells like death,” Kesy’s Hellboy remarks. The trailer unfolds to reveal a series of eerie and unsettling images: a woman levitating and bitten by a snake, swarms of insects, and more disturbing sights.
Based on the comic-book miniseries by Mignola and artist Richard Corben, Hellboy: The Crooked Man is set in the 1950s. It features Adeline Rudolph (Resident Evil) as a novice BPRD (Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense) agent who joins Hellboy to protect Appalachian residents from the sinister Crooked Man, who is harvesting souls for the devil.
Hellboy, an infant demon discovered by BPRD founder Professor Trevor “Broom” Bruttenholm, was raised to protect humanity from darker forces. Throughout his lengthy life, Hellboy collaborates with the BPRD to unravel paranormal mysteries and combat demons.
Joining Kesy and Rudolph in the cast are Jefferson White (Yellowstone) as Tom Ferrel, Leah McNamara as Effie Kolb, Joseph Marcell as Reverend Watts, Hannah Margetson as Cora Fisher, and Martin Bassindale as the Crooked Man.
The film is co-written by Mignola, the creator of Hellboy, who has penned nearly every comic featuring the character, and Christopher Golden, a frequent Mignola collaborator. Directed by Brian Taylor (Crank), the movie was filmed on location in Bulgaria from March to May 2023.
Hellboy: The Crooked Man is the first Hellboy film since the 2019 reboot starring David Harbour. The first two Hellboy films, directed by Guillermo Del Toro and starring Ron Perlman, were critically acclaimed for their fantasy elements, with Hellboy II: The Golden Army even being called one of the best superhero movies of the 21st century by former Entertainment Weekly writer Darren Franich. However, those films only loosely followed Mignola’s comics. Recent Hellboy films have aimed to stay closer to the original material.
Mignola’s Hellboy comics span both epic sagas and short, standalone stories. The 2019 film focused on the character’s destiny and mythical ties, whereas Hellboy: The Crooked Man adapts one of the shorter, more contained tales.
The challenge of the new film is to capture an audience despite its relatively small budget and distribution. In these days of $300 million budgets, respect of the audience is purchased in dollars. A low budget version of Hellboy has its work cut out for it.
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