The fact that we don’t have a Hellboy 3 is one of the great tragedies of comic book cinema. Director Guillermo del Toro held onto his plans for a closer to his trilogy based on the Dark Horse Comics hero for years before it was ultimately decided to reboot the franchise. The result was last year’s relaunch starring David Harbour, and it’s fair to say no one’s clamoring for a sequel, let alone a trilogy, to that movie, given that it was a box office and critical bomb.
The only way to save the brand, then, is surely to do what should have been done in the first place and get del Toro and his leading man Ron Perlman back to make their final chapter. Unfortunately, we’re still waiting for some news on that front, but this awesome new fan trailer gives us an idea of how it might go down. YouTube creator StryderHD has put together the above video using footage from previous Hellboy films to tease how the saga could end if a threequel was officially ordered up.
Interestingly, the YouTuber has taken the route of imagining the 2019 reboot had never happened. In his version of Hellboy 3, Milla Jovovich wasn’t hired to play the villainous Nimue but an ass-kicking ally for Big Red instead. And in the caption, the creator explains his thought process, saying: “I’d rather have Milla play a good guy and a big helping hand in this one and make the villains even crazier and the threat much bigger for everyone.”
So, could a real Hellboy 3 ever actually happen? Well, del Toro is a very busy man – the Oscar-winning filmmaker’s next project is a stop-motion animated adaptation of Pinocchio – and Perlman turned 70 this year. Still, there are more outlets for a would-be cult movie like this nowadays than there used to be. It would be a perfect tentpole streaming release, for instance, similar to Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
Tell us, though, do you want to see Hellboy 3 become a reality? Join the conversation in the usual place below.
