Hellboy Reboot: David Harbour, Ron Perlman and Hell Water Cinnamon Whiskey

It’s been nine years since Mike Mignola‘s cigar-munching hellspawn with a heart of gold graced the big screen in Hellboy II: The Golden Army, but talk of a third movie in the series has been pretty much constant ever since. In 2010, director Guillermo del Toro lamented that a third movie in the series would probably never happen for a number of reasons, including the fact that Ron Perlman was getting old and hated the makeup process, and earlier this year he took to Twitter to report that “100% the sequel will not happen.”

That’s why the recent news that Millenium was in negotiations to bring Hellboy back to the big screen — possibly as an R-rated feature — was surprising and welcome news to comic book and movie fans alike.  Add to that the fact that fan-favorite actor David Harbour (Stranger Things), who was recently up for the role of Cable in Deadpool 2, is in talks for the lead and it’s one of the most exciting comic book movie news items in recent memory!

Neil Marshall (Westworld TV series) will direct Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen, the working title of the new movie, and “the script is done,” according to screenwriter Andrew Cosby (Eureka TV series), who wrote it with Christopher Golden (Ghosts of Albion) and Mignola. Cosby confirmed the rumors that the new movie will be “darker, more gruesome” than the previous films.

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.

Del Toro said that Perlman was over playing Hellboy a long time ago, so it’s no surprise that he bears no ill will toward the franchise moving on without him. Perlman said Harbour “is a good dude” and added that he wished him “nothing but the best” in “retooling” Hellboy for a new generation of fans.

If this news about the return of Hellboy hasn’t raised your body temperature, here’s something that might: Dark Horse Comics, XXX Distillery LLC and Prestige Imports LLC are releasing a craft-distilled, small batch cinnamon-flavored whiskey called Hellboy Hell Water Cinnamon Whiskey that is 66.6 proof for $19.99 for a 750ml bottle. Drink responsibly and don’t fight any demons (or drive!) while under the influence.