Guillermo Del Toro; the writer and director of both Hellboy films to date, only recently left production of Lord of the Rings prequel movies The Hobbit (which he was due to direct); due to the constant delays that film is suffering as a result of MGM’s financial troubles; but has an already packed schedule; that includes work on Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, The Witches, and the James Cameron (Avatar) produced At the Mountains of Madness; although none of that has stopped him thinking about producing a third film in the Hellboy series.
A couple of months ago Del Toro was quoted as saying that “the Hellboy screenplays aren’t quick to write” and “for whatever reason, they end up being very complicated”; which left many fans thinking that if a third Hellboy film was in the works, it wouldn’t be appearing anytime soon; something that Del Toro has just about confirmed, in a more recent interview.
Speaking to MTV, Guillermo said that he would “love to” make Hellboy 3, but went on to state that “the heartbreak for me is that I know how it ends, and I don’t know if I want to see that ending; but I would love to do it;” and the end he refers to would follow on from the previous installment (which suggested that not only may the anti-hero-demon/superhero Hellboy have to face his destiny as a potential harbinger of the apocalypse, but that he would meet and extremely dark fate) and mostly likely close with the death of Hellboy himself.
And not only is that an ending that Del Toro would be sad to see come to fruition, but it’s an ending that Hellboy’s creator; Mike Mignola; is not entirely happy about seeing realized just yet; because he confirmed in an interview back in 2008 that whilst his plan for the Hellboy comics has always been “a finite story” he believes it will take him “15 years to get to the ending”, and although his Hellboy “is going to die” he has stated quite explicitly that he “wants to be the one to do it”, because if Del Toro takes the ending “there won’t be a lot of surprise when we reach the end of the comic.”
As well as that, Guillermo has hinted that Ron Perlman (the actor who played Hellboy in both of the previous movies) may not be too keen to come back at the minute; as he is apparently less than fond of having to spend six hours in a make-up chair before a shoot, and “likes to be the big cheese without having to endure the make-up session” something he’s gotten used to now that “he’s doing Sons of Anarchy without makeup”; something that Del Toro joking said makes him “spoiled.”
So while the plans are in place, and Del Toro would clearly like to make a third and final chapter in the Hellboy saga, there are a number of things that stand in the way of it getting made just yet; how awkward it is to complete a Hellboy script, the fact that Mike Mignola wants to be the first one to realize his ending, and the fact that Ron Perlman’a essentially living on easy street with his major role in FX’s Sons of Anarchy; which mean, at least for now, Hellboy 3 will be staying on the shelf.
