Speaking as someone who has rarely been able to call himself a fan of anything that is traditionally categorized as “fantasy,” I am very much looking forward to Hellboy: The Crooked Man. The upcoming superhero movie is the latest installment from what is, just about, my favorite fantasy movie franchise, because the action-packed, Earthbound adventures of a demon with a heart of gold are anything but traditional.
The big, red titular hero of Mike Mignola’s Dark Horse comic book series was first brought to the big screen in one of Guillermo del Toro’s best movies, Hellboy, from 2004, as played by Ron Perlman, who would reprise the role in 2008’s Hellboy: The Golden Army before Stranger Things cast member David Harbour took over in Neil Marshall’s 2019 reboot. Now, a new actor is donning the filed-down horns in a story unlike anything the character’s cinematic iterations have faced yet. See what we mean in our following breakdown of all the most important facts we know about Hellboy: The Crooked Man so far.
What Is The Hellboy: The Crooked Man Release Date?
At the moment, no official release date for Hellboy: The Crooked Man has been formally announced, but it is expected to show up on our upcoming 2024 movie schedule. Cast member Adeline Rudolph’s Instagram story (via Adeline Rudolph BR on Twitter) confirmed that the film had gone into production in Bulgaria (the location we can thank Deadline for confirming) as of March 28, 2023.
Unless it misses the 2024 cutoff and instead falls on our upcoming 2025 movie schedule, the film would be coming out 20 years after Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy was released, but only five years after the director Neil Marshall’s own reboot, which — despite its redeeming qualities — did not result in a very hot critical or commercial reception. Hopefully, this subsequent reboot is received more graciously than its first trailer.
The First Hellboy: The Crooked Man Trailer Promises A Seriously Wicked Flick
One of the main reasons why fans are divided on the Hellboy: The Crooked Man trailer is the suggestion that the new film will see a major departure from the tone of the original films. Indeed, this is looking to be a far more earnest and, especially, scarier adventure than what HB has faced on the big screen before. See for yourself by watching the clip here:
The 70-second teaser, thankfully, does not reveal too much about the story but does mention the titular antagonist by name, describing it as a local folk legend before offering a blurry, but ominous, glimpse. That might not even be the most unsettling image, as there is also a shot of a woman being strangled by a snake in mid-air, people being burned alive, and Hellboy’s face covered in what appears to be a swarm of bees, a la Candyman. Maybe this darker cinematic take on the property is not everyone’s cup of tea, but for horror fans, the trailer hits the sweet spot.
Jack Kesy Leads The Hellboy: The Crooked Man Cast
Let’s review the known members of the Hellboy: The Crooked Man cast to see who is succeeding Ron Perlman and David Harbour in the title role and what new characters will join him.
Jack Kesy (Hellboy)
The new Hellboy is Jack Kesy, who last starred as a comic book character in a movie when he played X-Men villain Black Tom Cassidy in 2018’s Deadpool 2. He also has some horror experience, having starred on Guillermo del Toro’s vampire TV show, The Strain, and even more experience with the action genre, such as in 2018’s 12 Strong and Amazon’s Without Remorse from 2021, which makes him a natural for this sort of role.
Jefferson White (Tom Ferrell)
As Tom Ferrell — an Appalachian native whose experience in using witchcraft makes him a worthy partner to the devilish hero — we have Jefferson White, who is best known from the Yellowstone cast as Jimmy Hurdstrom. In addition to having a credit in common with Kesy, namely TNT’s The Alienist, he also has a few notably creepy titles on his resume, including an episode of Jordan Peele’s Twilight Zone reboot, and some action-oriented thrillers as well, such as Alex Garland’s acclaimed A24 movie, Civil War, from 2024.
Adeline Rudolph (Bobbie Jo Song)
Paying Bobbie Jo Song – a BRPD recruit who seeks Hellboy’s help – is Adeline Rudolph, who has dealt with some freaky stuff before when playing Agatha on Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and in the Resident Evil TV show cast. She also had a recurring role alongside the Riverdale cast as Minerva Marble and has a role in the upcoming video game movie, Mortal Kombat 2, as Kitana.
Leah McNamara (Effie Kolb)
In the original comic, The Crooked Man’s most trusted ally is a witch named Effie Kolb, who is played in the film by Leah McNamara, who actually made her film debut in a movie about witches called Cherry Tree in 2015. The Irish actor would go on to play Aud on Vikings, starred as Rachel on the Emmy-nominated Normal People, led the British miniseries Then You Run in 2023, and was in an episode of Netflix’s The Gentlemen.
Joseph Marcell (Reverend Watts)
Starring as a local preacher named Reverend Watts is Joseph Marcell, whom most might recognize from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air cast as Geoffrey. Since the hit sticom’s end, the Caribbean-British actor has starred in soap operas like The Bold and Beautiful and EastEnders, did two episode of Netflix’s Ratched, was most recently on Hulu’s Queenie, and even played another priest in a horror movie from 2021 called The Exorcism of God.
Hannah Margetson (Cora Fisher)
Tom’s childhood friend, Cora Fisher, is played by Hannah Margetson, who is making her feature film debut in Hellboy: The Crooked Man. Based in London and Copenhagen and also known for founding the Snake Height talent agency, her only other acting credit so far is a miniseries called Min kamp.
Martin Bassindale (The Crooked Man)
Facing off against Hellboy as the main antagonist, The Crooked Man, is Martin Bassindale, who would break into the industry performing on stage with the Royal Shakespeare Company. His most notable screen credits include the 2017 comedy, The Time of Their Lives, and Apple TV+’s Masters of the Air from 2024.
What Hellboy: The Crooked Man Is About
The key to a worthy reboot of an established, beloved franchise is bringing something genuinely new to the table, and that appears to be the goal with The Crooked Man. According to plot details revealed by Millennium Media at the European Film Market in Berlin (as an above Deadline article reported), the new movie takes place in the 1950s, when a younger Hellboy finds himself at odds with a coven of witches tormenting a small town near the Appalachian Mountains.
So, not only is this movie introducing a new cinematic iteration of our protagonist, but will depict him in the earlier years of his service to the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, a la The Batman’s depiction of the Dark Knight’s second year fighting crime in Gotham City. The only other times we saw a more youthful Hellboy were when his infant self first came to Earth in the first film’s cold open, and when the 11-year-old demon learned the legend of the Golden Army in the sequel’s prologue.
The Movie Adapts Creator Mike Mignola's Favorite Hellboy Story
If any die-hard fans of the original comic or Ron Perlman purists still needed any reason to be excited for this reboot, perhaps they will be when they learn about the source material. Hellboy: The Crooked Man is a direct adaptation of the three-part comic book miniseries of the same name, which was published by Dark Horse in 2008 and has since become one of the more favored, including among the character’s own creator. In an interview with Variety, Mike Mignola had this to say about the comic:
For years, we’ve been saying, if you’re going to make a Hellboy movie, make it small. And the perfect story to do that with is my personal favorite, ‘The Crooked Man.’ I think it’s one of the best things I’ve ever written. It’s beautifully illustrated by Richard Corben, and it’s a solid story that doesn’t involve a million different characters. Everybody actually agreed from the very beginning, ‘Yes, we want to do that one.’ Budget-wise, it’s good because it’s a lower budget kind of a story. It’s not the Hellboy origin. It’s not Hellboy saving the world. It’s not huge. It’s a subtle, dark, little folk horror story.
Not only is it exciting to know that we can also count this sequel among our upcoming horror movies to look forward to, but it is hard to believe that this will be the first film of said genre to star the red hero. This is especially surprising when you consider the fact that Del Toro is a horror fanatic who has made a few freaky features of his own and the director of 2019’s Hellboy, Neil Marshall, wrote and helmed one of the greatest horror movies in recent memory: 2005’s The Descent.
Brian Taylor Is Directing Hellboy: The Crooked Man
It is good to know that Hellboy’s first genuine foray into horror cinema will be helmed by someone who does have some experience with the genre, as well as comic book adaptations. According to Discussing Film, Brian Taylor — whose last film was the 2017 coming-of-age nightmare Mom and Dad, starring Nicolas Cage and (coincidentally) Hellboy star Selma Blair — directs Hellboy: The Crooked Man.
Along with his former creative partner, Mark Neveldine, Taylor gained a reputation for crafting fast-paced action thrillers like the Crank movies, Gamer, and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. He first went off on his own to make Mom and Dad before developing a series adaptation of Grant Morrison’s twisted fantasy crime thriller comic, Happy!, for SyFy, and a Peacock original TV show based on Aldous Huxley’s sci-fi novel, Brave New World.
Mike Mignola Wrote The Movie With Chris Golden
The script could not be in better hands, as Mike Mignola penned it himself. The comic book icon did not write the screenplay for the 2004 adaptation or the 2019 reboot, but did collaborate on the story for Hellboy II: The Golden Army, making this the first time he has actually handled the screenplay for a Hellboy movie himself.
As he notes in his aforementioned conversation with Variety, Mignola was not alone in the process, and Chris Golden is a perfect choice for the job — having previously written a few Hellboy comics with Mignola and on his own. Mignola also mentions in the Variety article that each draft of the script has maintained the R-rated, horror-centric approach that he, Golden, and Taylor are pushing for.
As a fan of comic book movies and, especially, of horror movies, a film that combines the two into one is something that never fails to pique my interest. I also adore the character of Hellboy, so you can call me ecstatic in anticipation over Hellboy: The Crooked Man.
