Posted in: Movies | Tagged: film, hellboy
The Hellboy Reboot Won't Be An Origin Story
There is a certain subset of comic book fandom that is completely over the idea of an origin story. There are certain story beats that a movie needs to make when they're making an origin movie and people are sick of it. There are a couple of ways around this and it sounds like the upcoming Hellboy reboot is looking to bypass the origin story. Star David Harbor was on the Happy Sad Confused podcast (via Collider) and talked about how the movie isn't a traditional origin story.
"There is something of [his origin], but it's not really an origin story movie. We kind of pick up the movie like we're running and gunning. We do have a little bit of stuff where we show stuff, but it really is a story and you just drop in with this guy. In a way, I feel like that's kind of what Indiana Jones was. You start with him stealing the idol, but also you do go back to the university and you understand he's an archaeologist, but this is just a guy who goes and steals idols and fights Nazis and wants to steal the Arc of the Covenant. But you never go back when he's a kid and you're like, 'How did he become Indiana Jones?' It's like no, we accept that this is Indiana Jones and I think that's what our story does too. You accept that there's this half-demon guy running around the world and being a paranormal investigator and solving crimes and also dealing with his own issues at the same time."
The reality of the world is that movie goers, these days, have accepted concepts weirder than Hellboy. The thing that needs to work is the performance, the chemistry, and making the character a person the audience wants to follow. If the people involved with this reboot do that much then the audience will accept this movie with no problem.
Hellboy, directed by Neil Marshall, will star David Harbor, Milla Jovovich, Sasha Lane and Ian McShane. It currently has a 2018 release date.