Comics
Neil Marshall Directing R-rated ‘Hellboy’ Reboot!
There has been talk of a third Hellboy for almost a decade now. In fact, back in February Guillermo del Toro, director of the two films, broke all of our hearts when he said there was a 100% chance Hellboy 3 would never happen. He was right.
In what will be one of the biggest stories of the year, Mike Mignola, creator of the “Hellboy” comics, took to his socials to break the news that they’re rebooting the franchise with Neil Marshall at the helm. The news didn’t stop there as he revealed that David Harbour of “Stranger Things” fame (pictured below) would be starring as the title character! Update: THR had some additional info, including the film’s working title: Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen.
Oh, and it will be “R”-rated!
Marshall is a genre favorite among Bloody Disgusting readers, having broken onto the scene with Dog Soldiers in 2002 and his horrific The Descent back 2005. He’s since gone on to direct Doomsday and episodes of “Hannibal”, “Game of Thrones”, and even “Westworld”.
While David Harbour became a household name as Jim Hopper in Netflix’s “Stranger Things”, he’s also starred in End of Watch, Quantum of Solace, Suicide Squad, among many more.
Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen is being executive produced by Christa Campbell, Lati Grobman, and Carl Hampe.
Ron Perlman starred in the 2004 Hellboy (pictured top) as a demon, raised from infancy after being conjured by and rescued from the Nazis, who grows up to become a defender against the forces of darkness. Perlman and del Toro reteamed in 2008 with Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Together they grossed over $250 million at the box office, an underwhelming number considering the $150 million combined budget, not including marketing costs. A reboot is welcomed, although we’ll always have a special place in our heart for Perlman’s interpretation of the character.
The supernatural world of Korean folk horror movie Exhuma grows larger with the arrival of prequel spinoff webtoon Maengjong this weekend, Variety reports today.
Naver Webtoon debuts Maengjong on May 30.
The series hails from Haemuri (Olgami) and will trace the high school origins of how shaman duo Hwarim and Bonggil, played by Kim Go-eun and Lee Do-hyun in the 2024 film, came together to face occultish threats.
The story is set to begin when “Hwarim, who has been concealing her identity following a childhood encounter with a snake spirit called Jin, crosses paths with Bonggil at their school.”
Variety notes that Exhuma director Jang Jae-hyun participated in the project’s early concept stage.
“We are presenting ‘Maengjong,’ a new series capturing the appeal of the horror-occult genre, ahead of the full summer season,” said Lee Jeong-geun, Naver Webtoon’s Korea webtoon content leader. “With the high school story of Hwarim and Bonggil, who left a strong impression in the film ‘Exhuma,’ enhanced by Haemuri’s characteristic tense direction, we expect it will be a welcome work for genre fans.”
“It is meaningful that the spin-off story of ‘Exhuma,’ loved by many audiences, expands by meeting the new grammar of webtoon,” said Lee Hyeon-jeong, managing director of the film business division at Showbox, which distributed the film. “We hope it will be a fresh experience for both film fans and webtoon readers.”
Exhuma was a breakout hit in 2024, becoming the first Korean occult film to surpass 10 million ticket buyers and the country’s highest-grossing film of the year. I wrote in my review that “the intricately woven Exhuma delivers one of the year’s biggest surprises in horror so far.”
The bond between Hwarim and Bonggil was one of the film’s highlights, making this prequel webtoon a must for fans.
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