Hellboy (franchise)

Last updated

Hellboy
Original work Hellboy (2004)
Owner Dark Horse Comics
Years2004–present
Based on Hellboy
by Mike Mignola

The Hellboy franchise consists of 4 live-action films, 2 animated films, and various games and novels. The series details the adventures of Hellboy, a Cambion (or half-Demon) whose true name is Anung Un Rama and works for the B.P.R.D. The franchise has grossed a total of $325.2 million, on a combined budget of $212.5– $221 million.

Contents

Films

FilmU.S. release dateDirectorScreenwriterStory byProducers
Hellboy April 2, 2004 Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro and Peter Briggs Lawrence Gordon, Mike Richardson, and Lloyd Levin
Hellboy: Sword of Storms October 28, 2006Phil Weinstein Matt Wayne and Tad Stones Mike Mignola and Tad StonesScott D. Greenberg, Scott Hemming, and Sidney Clifton
Hellboy: Blood and Iron March 10, 2007 Victor Cook Kevin Hopps
Hellboy II: The Golden Army July 11, 2008Guillermo del ToroGuillermo del Toro and Mike MignolaLawrence Gordon, Mike Richardson, and Lloyd Levin
Hellboy April 12, 2019 Neil Marshall Andrew Cosby Lawrence Gordon, Lloyd Levin, Mike Richardson, Philip Westgren, Carl Hampe, Matt O'Toole, Les Weldon, and Yariv Lerner
Hellboy: The Crooked Man October 8, 2024 Brian Taylor Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden, and Brian TaylorMike Richardson, Jeff Greenstein, Yariv Lerner, Jonathan Yunger, Les Weldon, Robert Van Norden, and Sam Shulte

Live-action films

Hellboy (2004)

Ron Perlman, David Harbour, and Jack Kesy as Hellboy Perlman & Harbour Hellboy.jpg
Ron Perlman, David Harbour, and Jack Kesy as Hellboy

The film was directed and co-written by Guillermo del Toro and stars Ron Perlman as Hellboy (the favorite of both del Toro and Mignola for the role), Selma Blair as Liz Sherman, Rupert Evans as FBI Special Agent John Myers (a character created for the film), John Hurt as Professor Trevor Bruttenholm, Doug Jones as Abe Sapien (voiced by an uncredited David Hyde Pierce), Karel Roden as Grigori Rasputin, and Jeffrey Tambor as FBI Senior Special Agent Tom Manning. The film depicts Hellboy as living at the BPRD with a dozen cats and limited access to the outside world, and considered an urban legend by the general populace.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)

A sequel, Hellboy II: The Golden Army , was shot in Budapest by Guillermo del Toro and released in 2008, with Perlman and Blair returning. [1] Jones also returned as Abe Sapien (undubbed this time), and also in two other roles, The Angel of Death and The Chamberlain. [2] Revolution Studios had planned on making the film (which Columbia Pictures was to distribute), but the studio went out of business before filming. Universal Studios then picked it up. The plot is a shift to more folklore rather than action, with heavy European overtones. The character of Johann Kraus was added to the team, voiced by Seth MacFarlane. The character Roger the Homunculus was not, but he was written into the plot as a very prominent character in early drafts of the script. The character of Agent Myers from the first film does not return, his absence being explained by Liz remarking that Hellboy had him transferred to Antarctica out of jealousy. Hellboy also reveals himself to the outside world in this film, and Liz is revealed to be pregnant with his twin children. On November 11, 2008, Hellboy II: The Golden Army was released on DVD.

Canceled third film

A sequel for Hellboy II: The Golden Army was in development in 2009, entitled Hellboy III: Dark Worlds. Guillermo del Toro was slated to return as the film's director and writer. Ron Perlman, Doug Jones, Seth MacFarlane, Selma Blair and Jeffrey Tambor were set to reprise their roles. In the sequel, Hellboy would live his normal life as a father for his two newborn twins with Liz Sherman, but also has to face an extremely powerful enemy who wishes to rule and bring the darkness upon Earth. In 2017, it was announced that the sequel was canceled due to the difficulty of funding the film, and a reboot would happen instead.

However, in July 2019, Perlman said that he would still love to finish the trilogy with del Toro, ignoring the reboot and that he thought it could happen if financing could be found. [3]

Hellboy (2019)

In May 2017, Mignola announced Millennium Media's plans for an R-rated reboot, at the time titled Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen, with David Harbour as the titular character and Neil Marshall directing from a script by Andrew Cosby, Christopher Golden and Mignola. [4] The film draws inspiration from Darkness Calls , The Wild Hunt , The Storm and the Fury , and Hellboy in Mexico. [5] [6] The film, later retitled as Hellboy, was released on April 12, 2019 to negative reviews. [7] [8] It grossed $55.1 million against a $50 million production budget, [9] with several media outlets declaring it a box office bomb. [10] [11] [12] In 2022, Marshall decried the film, calling it the "worst profession experience" of his life due to creative control being taken from him by the producers and that the script was not salvageable, concluding that "there's nothing of me in that movie." [13]

Hellboy: The Crooked Man (2024)

In February 2023, Millennium Media announced plans for another reboot titled Hellboy: The Crooked Man, the first in a potential series of films. Brian Taylor directed from a script by Mignola and Golden, based on the 2008 comic of the same name, with Jack Kesy as Hellboy. [14] [15] The film was released direct-to-VOD in the United States on October 8, 2024. [16]

Animated films

On November 9, 2005, IDT Entertainment issued a press release [17] announcing that the company had licensed the rights to develop "animated content for television and home entertainment" based on the Hellboy comic. Ron Perlman (Hellboy), Selma Blair (Liz Sherman), Doug Jones (Abe Sapien) and John Hurt (Professor Trevor "Broom" Bruttenholm) have all voiced their respective characters. Actress Peri Gilpin joined the cast as Professor Kate Corrigan.

The first two 75-minute animated films, Sword of Storms and Blood and Iron , were aired on Cartoon Network before being released on DVD. The first one aired on October 28, 2006, and the second aired on March 17, 2007.

Both stories have much more in common with the comic book Hellboy rather than the film — Abe Sapien is not psychic, for example, and the artwork and color palette is derived more from Mignola's original artwork. The DVD of Sword of Storms was released on February 6, 2007; it contains documentary material, commentary, and a Hellboy comic, "Phantom Limbs". Blood and Iron similarly contains a comic called "The Yearning".

After the initial release, some stores included exclusive giveaways with copies of the Hellboy Animated: Blood and Iron DVD:

A "Hellboy 2 Pak" limited edition DVD set was released July 1, 2008, that contained both films and a 7" figure.

A third animated Hellboy film, The Phantom Claw, has been put on hold. Tad Stones, director and writer of the direct-to-video films, says the film would of starred Lobster Johnson and have some familiar characters, but Abe and Liz would not be in the film (at least not as main characters).

Main cast and characters

List indicators

This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in more than two films in the series.

CharacterFilms
Hellboy (2004 Hellboy: Sword of Storms (2006) Hellboy: Blood and Iron (2007) Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) Hellboy (2019) Hellboy: The Crooked Man (2024)
Principal cast
Hellboy Ron Perlman David Harbour Jack Kesy
Liz Sherman Selma Blair —
John Myers Rupert Evans —
Trevor Bruttenholm John Hurt —John Hurt
James Arnold Taylor (young)		John Hurt Ian McShane —
Abe Sapien Doug Jones
David Hyde Pierce (voice)		Doug JonesUnknown C —
Tom Manning Jeffrey Tambor — Jim Cummings Jeffrey Tambor—
Grigori Rasputin Karel Roden —Markos Rounthwaite C —
Karl Ruprecht Kroenen Ladislav Beran —Ilko Iliev C —
Ilsa Haupstein Bridget Hodson —Vanessa Eicholz C —
Professor Kate Corrigan — Peri Gilpin —
Johann Kraus —John Alexander and James Dodd
Seth MacFarlane (voice)		—
Prince Nuada Silverlance— Luke Goss —
Princess Nuala— Anna Walton —
Vivienne Nimue, the Blood Queen — Milla Jovovich —
Alice Monaghan— Sasha Lane —
Ben Daimio— Daniel Dae Kim —
Jeremiah Witkins / The Crooked Man—Martin Bassindale
Tom Ferrell— Jefferson White
Bobbie Jo Song— Adeline Rudolph

Additional crew and production details

TitleCrew/Detail
ComposerCinematographerEditorProduction companiesDistributing companiesRunning time
Hellboy (2004) Marco Beltrami Guillermo Navarro Peter Amundson Revolution Studios, Lawrence Gordon/Lloyd Levin Productions, and Dark Horse Entertainment Columbia Pictures and Revolution Studios122 min
Hellboy: Sword of Storms (2006) Christopher Drake —John Hoyos and Jeffrey Perlmutter Starz Media, Film Roman, Revolution Studios, and Madhouse Anchor Bay Entertainment 77 min
Hellboy: Blood and Iron (2007)Matt Steinauer75 min
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) Danny Elfman Guillermo Navarro Bernat Vilaplana Universal Pictures, Relativity Media, Lawrence Gordon/Lloyd Levin Productions, and Dark Horse Entertainment Universal Pictures 120 min
Hellboy (2019) Benjamin Wallfisch Lorenzo Senatore Martin Bernfeld Summit Entertainment, Millennium Media, Lawrence Gordon/Lloyd Levin Productions, Dark Horse Entertainment, Nu Boyana, and Campbell Grobman Films Lionsgate 121 min
Hellboy: The Crooked Man (2024)Sven FaulconerIvan VatsovRyan DenmarkMillennium Media, Dark Horse Entertainment, Nu Boyana Film Studios, and Campbell Grobman Films Ketchup Entertainment 99 min

Reception

Box office and financial performance

FilmBox office grossBox office rankingBudgetRef.
North AmericaOther territoriesWorldwideAll time
North America		All time
worldwide
Hellboy (2004)$59,623,958$40,200,000$99,823,9581,5621,871$60–66 million [18] [19]
Hellboy: Sword of Storms (2006)—————— [20]
Hellboy: Blood and Iron (2007)—————— [21]
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)$75,986,503$92,332,740$168,319,2431,1621,227$82.5–85 million [22] [23]
Hellboy (2019)$21,903,748$33,161,541$55,065,2893,6693,001$50 million [24] [25]
Hellboy: The Crooked Man (2024)TBA$2,014,050$2,014,05010,28914,763$20 million [26] [27]
Total$157,514,209$167,708,331$325,222,540––$212.5–
$221 million

Critical and public response

Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic
Hellboy (2004)81% (204 reviews) [28] 72 (37 reviews) [29]
Hellboy: Sword of Storms (2006)— (4 reviews) [30] —
Hellboy: Blood and Iron (2007)— (3 reviews) [31] —
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)86% (247 reviews) [32] 78 (36 reviews) [33]
Hellboy (2019)17% (222 reviews) [34] 31 (44 reviews) [35]
Hellboy: The Crooked Man (2024)39% (36 reviews) [36] 45 (7 reviews) [37]

Other media

Novels and anthologies

Christopher Golden has written several novels about the character, the first two of which, The Lost Army and The Bones of Giants, are part of the official Hellboy story canon. The events of both these novels are listed in the comic's official timeline featured in Hellboy: The Companion. In particular, the Golden-penned character of Anastasia Bransfield was also described in the companion, despite having never actually appeared in a comic.

  1. Hellboy: The Lost Army (written by Christopher Golden, cover and other illustrations by Mike Mignola, 1997)
  2. Hellboy: Odd Jobs (by editor Christopher Golden, writers include Stephen R. Bissette, Greg Rucka, Nancy A. Collins, and Poppy Z. Brite; with an introduction by Mike Mignola. Milwaukie: Dark Horse Comics, Inc., ISBN   1-56971-440-1, December 1999)
  3. Hellboy: The Bones of Giants (written by Christopher Golden, cover and other illustrations by Mike Mignola, 2001)
  4. Hellboy: Odder Jobs (by editor Christopher Golden, writers include Frank Darabont, Guillermo del Toro, Charles de Lint, Graham Joyce, Sharyn McCrumb, James Cambias, and Richard Dean Starr, October 2004)
  5. Hellboy: On Earth As It Is In Hell (written by Brian Hodge, cover by Mike Mignola, September 2005)
  6. Hellboy: Unnatural Selection (written by Tim Lebbon, cover by Mike Mignola, March 2006)
  7. Hellboy: The God Machine (written by Thomas E. Sniegoski, cover by Mike Mignola, July 2006)
  8. Hellboy: The Dragon Pool (written by Christopher Golden, cover by Mike Mignola, March 2007)
  9. Hellboy: Emerald Hell (written by Tom Piccirilli, cover by Mike Mignola, February 2008)
  10. Hellboy: The All-Seeing Eye (written by Mark Morris, cover by Mike Mignola, October 2008)
  11. Hellboy: Oddest Jobs (by editor Christopher Golden, writers include Joe R. Lansdale, China Miéville, Barbara Hambly, Ken Bruen, Amber Benson, and Tad Williams, July 2008)
  12. Hellboy: The Fire Wolves (written by Tim Lebbon, cover by Mike Mignola, April 2009)
  13. Hellboy: The Ice Wolves (written by Mark Chadbourn, cover by Duncan Fegredo, September 2009)
  14. Hellboy: An Assortment of Horrors (2017) [38]

Video games

A Hellboy video game called Hellboy: Dogs of the Night , developed by Cryo Interactive, was released in 2000 for Microsoft Windows. It was ported to PlayStation as Hellboy: Asylum Seeker with David Gasman voicing Hellboy. [39]

On April 6, 2005, Hellboy director Guillermo del Toro announced on his official site [40] that he had made a deal with the developer Konami to create a new Hellboy video game based on the film version of the character and his world, featuring new monsters, new villains, and a new storyline. Herman von Klempt and his war ape Kriegaffe #10 were slated to make appearances. On May 9, 2006, it was revealed that the Hellboy game would appear in the summer of 2007, on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PlayStation Portable. The game was released in North America on June 24, 2008 with the name Hellboy: The Science of Evil with Ron Perlman reprising his role. [41] It is developed by Krome Studios, and published by Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. As well as single-player campaign where the player gets to play as Hellboy the game also features co-op play, featuring the characters Abe Sapien and Liz Sherman. Two additional levels and Lobster Johnson as a playable character (voiced by Bruce Campbell) as DLC were developed but were unreleased.

A Hellboy video game called Hellboy II: The Golden Army – Tooth Fairy Terror was released for the iPhone by Tuesday Creative on January 14, 2009.

Hellboy is a playable DLC character in Injustice 2 , voiced by Bruce Barker, [42] as part of the "Fighter Pack 2". The character was released for download on Tuesday, November 14, 2017. He is brought to the Injustice universe by Brainiac who decides to add him to his collection as he is fascinated by Hellboy's human-like mind and personality despite being a demon. In his ending, Hellboy escapes from Brainiac's collection and defeats him. As a result, he is asked to assist in rounding up local supervillains before eventually returning to the B.P.R.D. but finds his work there unfulfilling and ends up retiring to Africa.

Hellboy appeared as a playable character in Brawlhalla . [43]

A Hellboy roguelike video game, titled Hellboy Web of Wyrd , was released on October 18, 2023 by developer Upstream Arcade. It is available on Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. [44] Lance Reddick voices the title character and it was one of his final productions prior to his death. The game is dedicated in his memory.

The Heavy from Team Fortress 2 has a cosmetic item based on Hellboy's horns. [45]

Tabletop games

In 2002, Hellboy Sourcebook and Roleplaying Game was published by Steve Jackson Games using their GURPS role-playing system, in both softcover and hardback.

Mantic Games released a Hellboy: The Board Game in 2019, after a successful crowdfunding campaign. [46]

In 2020, Mantic Games followed up the boardgame with another Hellboy Kickstarter campaign, this time for a new Hellboy roleplaying game, using D&D 5E as a base for the game rules. The roleplaying game was released in March 2021. [46]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Universal Pictures Picks Up Hellboy 2". Archived from the original on August 6, 2006. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Start Date for Hellboy 2 Confirmed". IGN . March 20, 2007. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  3. ↑ "Episode 144 - Ron Perlman" . Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  4. ↑ Kit, Borys (May 8, 2017). "'Hellboy' Reboot in the Works With 'Stranger Things' Star David Harbour". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  5. ↑ Holub, Christian (March 6, 2018). "Hellboy creator says the new movie is loyal to the comics". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on May 27, 2023. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  6. ↑ Yehl, Joshua (December 21, 2018). "Hellboy Creator Mike Mignola on How the Reboot Is Bringing the Comics to Life". IGN. Archived from the original on May 27, 2023. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  7. ↑ Couch, Aaron (September 26, 2018). "'Hellboy' Reboot Pushed Back 4 Months to April 2019". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  8. ↑ Welk, Brian (April 10, 2019). "'Hellboy' Reboot Impaled by Critics: 'Dreadful, Obnoxious, Unnecessary and Interminable'". TheWrap . Archived from the original on May 27, 2023. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  9. ↑ "Hellboy (2019)". Box Office Mojo . IMDb . Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  10. ↑ Ian Sandwell (December 5, 2019). "The biggest movie flops of 2019". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on February 16, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  11. ↑ Travis Clark (December 9, 2019). "The 16 biggest box-office flops of 2019". Business Insider. Archived from the original on February 16, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  12. ↑ Scott Mendelson (March 28, 2020). "Box Office: 'Hellboy' Bombed For Same Reason That 'Bumblebee' Disappointed". Forbes. Archived from the original on February 4, 2021. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  13. ↑ "Hellboy (2019) - Director talks Bad Scripts and Studio Interference". YouTube. March 25, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  14. ↑ Wiseman, Andreas (February 18, 2023). "'Hellboy: The Crooked Man' Plot & Production Details Revealed By Millennium; Reboot To Be A "Departure" & First In New Series — EFM". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  15. ↑ Wiseman, Andreas (March 2, 2023). "'Deadpool 2' Star Jack Kesy Cast As Hellboy In Reboot 'The Crooked Man'". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on March 2, 2023. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  16. ↑ Drum, Nicole (September 24, 2024). "Hellboy: The Crooked Man US Release Date Revealed". Comicbook. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  17. ↑ "IDT Entertainment Licenses Animation Rights to Hellboy From Revolution Studios". IDT Corporation. November 9, 2005. Archived from the original on February 22, 2012. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  18. ↑ "Hellboy (2004)". Box Office Mojo . IMDb . Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  19. ↑ "Hellboy (2004)". The Numbers . Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  20. ↑ "Hellboy: Sword of Storms (2006)". The Numbers . Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  21. ↑ "Hellboy: Blood and Iron (2007)". The Numbers . Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  22. ↑ "Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)". The Numbers . Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  23. ↑ "Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)". Box Office Mojo . IMDb . Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  24. ↑ "Hellboy (2019)". The Numbers . Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  25. ↑ "Hellboy (2019)". Box Office Mojo . IMDb . Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  26. ↑ "Hellboy: The Crooked Man (2024)". Box Office Mojo . IMDb . Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  27. ↑ "Hellboy: The Crooked Man (2024)". The Numbers . Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  28. ↑ "Hellboy". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango . Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  29. ↑ "Hellboy". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  30. ↑ "Hellboy: Sword of Storms". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango . Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  31. ↑ "Hellboy: Blood and Iron". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango . Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  32. ↑ "Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango. Archived from the original on November 27, 2021. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  33. ↑ "Hellboy II: The Golden Army Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on December 2, 2021. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  34. ↑ "Hellboy". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  35. ↑ "Hellboy". Metacritic . CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 28, 2023. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  36. ↑ "Hellboy: The Crooked Man". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango . Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  37. ↑ "Hellboy: The Crooked Man". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  38. ↑ Holub, Christian. "Horror and fantasy authors team up for new Hellboy prose anthology". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  39. ↑ "Hellboy: Dogs of the Night for PC". GameRankings . CBS Interactive . Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  40. ↑ "Del Toro Films – Guillermo Del Toro Fansite".
  41. ↑ "Hellboy Voice | Behind The Voice Actors". behindthevoiceactors.com (Check mark indicates role has been confirmed using screenshots of closing credits and other reliable sources). December 20, 2019.
  42. ↑ "Bruce Barker – Voiceover & Actor". www.brucebarkervoiceover.com.
  43. ↑ Bankhurst, Adam (March 22, 2019). "Hellboy Characters Will Be Added to Brawlhalla Next Month". IGN . Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  44. ↑ Romano, Sal (December 8, 2022). "Hellboy: Web of Wyrd announced for PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC". Gematsu. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  45. ↑ Valve. "Horned Honcho - Team Fortress 2 Wiki" . Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  46. 1 2 Dohm-Sanchez, Jeffrey (August 20, 2020). "'HELLBOY: THE ROLEPLAYING GAME' FULLY-FUNDED ON KICKSTARTER". ICv2 . Retrieved March 3, 2025.
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