‘Hellboy: Rise Of The Blood Queen’ Reboot Will Embrace The Blood & Practical FX

Can you remember when the thought of a new Hellboy movie was but a distant dream? Well, here we are in late June of 2017, and not only is it a reality, the developmental wheels have already begun to spin on Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen.

Sure, some of the dynamics have changed. Original Director Guillermo del Toro and star Ron Perlman are out, replaced by Neil Marshall (Dog Soldiers, Game of Thrones) and David Harbour (Stranger Things) respectively. But considering only a few months ago we were at a stage where there simply wasn’t going to be another Hellboy, this is a small price to pay – and to be completely honest, the names attached so far have us here at Horror Geek Life giddier than Big Red at a cat sanctuary.

Mike Mignola himself has given his blessing to the casting, and let’s face it, Marshall’s work on films like the aforementioned Dog Soldiers, and some of the most exciting battles in Game of Thrones history is an excellent choice to replace del Toro.

Director Neil Marshall was recently a guest on the Post Mortem podcast, to discuss his vision for the beloved comic book character. In the discussion, Marshall waylaid fans fears by advising that the PG-13 era was a thing of the past:

“We’ve been granted permission to do it R-rated, which for me is just like taking the cuffs off,” Marshall explained. “It’s like, okay, so now we can just make the movie we want to make. It’s not like I’m going to force it to be R-rated, but if it happens to come out that way, just because of my own sensibilities, then fine. And nobody’s going to stop us. So, that’s the main [difference]. And I’m sure, obviously, the success of things like Deadpool and Logan have not hurt that cause. But, also, when you go back the original material, it is kind of bloody, so I’m going to embrace that.”

Marshall has also advised that the film will focus more on practical effects, a breath of fresh air for those of us who have grown tired of the entirely CG worlds of modern cinema. Marshall, who is no stranger to practical wizardry in his previous work, said:

“It’s definitely going to be as practical as we can possibly make it. I love to do stuff in camera whenever I possibly can, and use CG as the amazing tool that it is, to enhance or expand upon the world, but not to use it to replace reality, when you can do it [for] real.”

We think it’s pretty clear from all of this, that Mike Mignola’s devilish creation is in safe hands. Safe red-right hands of doom that is!

Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen begins filming in Autumn, with a late 2018 release date on the cards.