Hey, Hellboy fans, remember when Guillermo del Toro sent out this tweet, asking if we wanted a Hellboy 3?
Informal poll (let's see how many votes we get in 24 hours)
Hellboy III— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) January 18, 2017
The deal was that if 100,000 people responded to the tweet, he’s sit down with actor Ron Perlman and creator Mike Mignola for a third sequel. He got that total and he began to fulfill his promise almost immediately:
I spoke with Ron Perlman. He's in for the sit down. Will approach Mignola next. Will keep you posted. Very moved by your love of pt I & II
— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) January 19, 2017
Thing were looking good, right? And then…radio silence for over a month. That’s not good, right?
No, that’s not good.
Hellboy 3 Sorry to report: Spoke w all parties. Must report that 100% the sequel will not happen. And that is to be the final thing about it
— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) February 21, 2017
Hellboy 3 is dead. We hardly even knew you. And, by proxy, the Hellboy franchise as we know is dead as well.
So, who killed it? Since del Toro seems hyped to direct the film, it had to come down to Perlman and/or Mignola saying no. That issue was also quickly cleared up:
Superhero seeks employment. Likes, pizza, cats, and the Marx bros. https://t.co/TnWaFlE3tx
— Ron Perlman (@perlmutations) February 21, 2017
That reads as if Perlman would have been willing to do the film. So, by process of elimination, our murderer is Hellboy creator Mike Mignola. What does he have to say about it?
So there you have it…… https://t.co/MtLW4MBIBD
— Mike Mignola (@artofmmignola) February 21, 2017
Not an admission of guilt, but last year Mignola has expressed doubts that del Toro would even be able to make Hellboy 3 before he died.
Last I heard he said he would not make it. Guillermo — who I love — in every interview there’s a new story on what his next movie is and he honestly believes he’s going to do all these things. But last I heard, he said ‘I’m never gonna get back to Hellboy. I’m not surprised because he won’t live long enough to do a tenth of the movies he’s told me he’s going to make. I can’t imagine him making a Hellboy 3. He’s very enthusiastic and says he’s going to do all these things….ummm….he’s cute [laughed].
del Toro does have a reputation of biting off more projects than he could chew. Don’t forget, he was supposed to take over The Hobbit and backed out. He also backed away from a Justice League Dark film as well.
So, since it obviously doesn’t seem like a mutual decision, what made Mignola shoot it down? Did he want to do it immediately and del Toro couldn’t commit to doing it now? Does he simply think that the concept had run its course? Or was just not willing to jump through all the hoops it would take to get the movie made? We’ll never know.
