Hellboy (2019 film)

Hellboy is an upcoming American supernatural superhero film directed by Neil Marshall and written by Mike Mignola, Andrew Cosby, Christopher Golden and Aron Coleite, based on the Dark Horse Comics character Hellboy. The film serves as a reboot to the Hellboy film series and stars David Harbour, Ian McShane, Milla Jovovich, Sasha Lane, Daniel Dae Kim, Penelope Mitchell, and Sophie Okonedo. The film is scheduled to be released on January 11, 2019.

Premise
Hellboy squares off against a medieval sorceress who seeks to destroy humankind.

Cast

 * David Harbour as Hellboy, an immensely powerful demon who works for the government organization Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. Harbour has stated that the film will be a "character piece" and feature mature themes and "complicated subjects" that will warrant the film's R-rating, stating, "It really is this study of this man going through this horrible conundrum and we really get to go in deep with him." Mignola has stated that Harbour had been researching the character, stating, "He's texting me Hellboy questions about his history, about what the character would think about this or about that."
 * Milla Jovovich as Nimue, the Blood Queen, a medieval British sorceress who seeks to destroy humankind.
 * Ian McShane as Trevor Bruttenholm, Hellboy's adoptive father and founder of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (B.P.R.D.).
 * Sasha Lane as Alice Monaghan, a woman of Irish descent who retained some magical abilities after she was kidnapped by fairies as a baby.
 * Daniel Dae Kim as Ben Daimio, a rugged Japanese-American military member of the B.P.R.D. who, due to a supernatural encounter, can turn into a jaguar when angered or in pain. Ed Skrein was originally cast in the role but dropped out a week after his casting due to accusations of white-washing. A month later, Kim was cast in the role.
 * Penelope Mitchell as Ganeida, an elder witch who has decided that Nimue's wrath has gone on for too long and must be stopped.
 * Sophie Okonedo as Lady Hatton, a resident seer at the Osiris Club, an ancient English club dedicated to uncovering supernatural mysteries.
 * Alistair Petrie as Lord Adam Glaren, a high-ranking member of the Osiris Club.
 * Brian Gleeson as Merlin, a wizard.

Production
In 2014, Hellboy creator Mike Mignola began work with writer Andrew Cosby on the story for a new film. The project was initially intended as a sequel to Guillermo del Toro's films Hellboy and Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Del Toro was asked to produce, but declined, wishing instead to direct his own script for Hellboy III, and Ron Perlman refused to star without del Toro's involvement. When Neil Marshall joined, it was decided that the new film would instead be a reboot.

In May 2017, Mignola announced on his personal Facebook page that the reboot, then titled Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen, would be directed by Neil Marshall and star David Harbour as the eponymous character. Mignola also stated that the film would have an R rating. At the time, it was targeted for a 2018 release. Andrew Cosby has stated that the film will be a "darker, more gruesome version of Hellboy", stating, "Neil said from the very beginning that he wanted to walk a razor's edge between horror and comic book movie, which was music to my ears, because that's what I was shooting for in the script, and precisely what Mignola does so well with the comics."

Mignola has stated that he will have minimal involvement with the reboot, stating that he would act more as a "co-executive producer" and will not be involved with the pre-production or design, stating, "When the decision was made to do another movie, I got involved, basically saying, 'If you're going to do that story, don't do this, or that, change this, and that.' I helped to steer it. Christopher Golden and I did write a couple of drafts of the screenplay and got it on track, and then the decision was made to do a reboot." In August 2017, the reboot dropped the subtitle Rise of the Blood Queen and was re-titled simply as Hellboy.

Casting
David Harbour was the first actor to be cast for the film in the role of Hellboy. In August 2017, Ian McShane was cast as Trevor Bruttenholm. On August 8, 2017, Milla Jovovich was cast as the main antagonist, the Blood Queen. On August 15, 2017, Sasha Lane was cast as Alice Monaghan.

On August 21, Ed Skrein was cast as Ben Daimio, however, Skrein voluntarily dropped out of the film on August 28 following accusations of "whitewashing" the role he was set to play, Skrein stated: "It is clear that representing this character in a culturally accurate way holds significance for people, and that to neglect this responsibility would continue a worrying tendency to obscure ethnic minority stories and voices in the Arts. I feel it is important to honor and respect that. Therefore, I have decided to step down so the role can be cast appropriately." On August 30, 2017, Penelope Mitchell joined the cast as Ganeida.

In September 2017, Daniel Dae Kim was cast to replace Skrein in the role of Daimio. Kim has since praised Skrein for dropping the role, stating, "I applaud the producers and, in particular, Ed Skrein for championing the notion that Asian characters should be played by Asian or Asian American actors." The two later met and became acquainted after Skrein's exit, with Kim saying, "Thanks for the opportunity to get to know each other in person. Grateful to now call you 'friend'."

Filming
Hellboy began principal production in September 2017 and filmed in the United Kingdom and Bulgaria. On September 13, 2017, the first image of Harbour as Hellboy was released. Filming wrapped on December 27, 2017.

Release
Hellboy is scheduled to be released on January 11, 2019.