While it was great chatting with director Victor Garcia about Mirrors 2 (being released on DVD/Blu-ray October 19th) and all, we couldn’t help but ask him about Hellraiser: Revelations, the next sequel in the venerable franchise in which Stephan Smith Collins has been given the unenviable task of replacing Doug Bradley as Pinhead (the first time someone other than Bradley has taken on the role). Luckily, Garcia was forthcoming about the new film, telling us he’d just turned in his first cut to the studio and was eagerly awaiting their notes. He also addressed those photos of the “new” Pinhead currently circulating around the web, and needless to say he’s not too happy about the leak. So just why didn’t Bradley return? The answer – something about the studio being unwilling to wait around for him – is likely to engender some fanboy rage of the first order. See inside for details.
B-D: I have to ask about ‘Hellraiser: Revelations’ –

I actually delivered my cut today.

B-D: Oh, awesome. Well, I’ve seen photos of the new Pinhead, and I was just wondering if those are authentic or not.

Those pictures are real. The only problem with them is that somebody decided that it would be cool to Photoshop them and send them [to the press]. They spread like a disease, because obviously it’s not a regular sequel, it’s ‘Hellraiser’. And everybody was like waiting and hoping to take a look at the new Pinhead. So the answer is yes, those pictures are real, [but] the Photoshop work on them is not that good. I can tell you that Pinhead looks really cool.

B-D: So those photos don’t do the new Pinhead justice.

No, I’m not happy about the fact that those pictures were online. Those pictures weren’t approved by anybody…they just leaked online, and that’s not a good thing. Especially because Pinhead is something you want to treat with a lot of respect. Especially because the fans love Pinhead, and love Doug Bradley. And Doug Bradley became Pinhead for a whole generation. This is the first time that Doug is not playing Pinhead. He decided not to be involved in the project, so you know, we had to move with or without [him]…Gary [J. Tunnicliffe]’s script was basically an homage to the first ‘Hellraiser’ movie. Gary knows the franchise by heart. And I love the franchise. I mean, I was thirteen years old when I went to the movie theater and experienced ‘Hellraiser’. So I’ve been following the franchise for a long time, and I love it. I was not going to be involved in something that was disrespectful to the fans or to the franchise.

B-D: Do you know why Doug didn’t come back?

I have no idea…it was really fast…we had to work on our special effects, we had to go really fast. We had [very] few days to complete production. I just delivered my cut, so I’m waiting for them to get back to us with some notes, and hopefully everything’s gonna be done in the next month or so. So I was really under a lot of pressure…so I just learned that he was not gonna be able to do that, he was in the UK. Everything had to be done in such a short period of time, that probably he just couldn’t even do it, physically. It was like, ‘ok, we’re shooting this movie in two weeks, are you in?’ It’s like, ‘woah’. I said, ‘yes, of course I’m in, because it’s a Hellraiser movie.’

B-D: Right, how can you turn that down? So there’s a new ‘Pseudo-Pinhead’, can you talk at all about him?

Uh, no. I prefer not to talk [about it]. I know that Gary has already been talking a little bit about the plot. I can’t talk a lot about the plot. I’ve been asked from the studio not to give a lot of details. The only thing I can say about the story is that…I know there’s a huge concern from all the fans that are talking about it and saying it’s not gonna be a great movie. Which I completely understand, because a lot of people are waiting for a remake, in which you treat the franchise in the way it deserves. But what I can say is that…I’ve been keeping everything [effects-wise] practical, and that it’s as much a throwback as an ’80s feeling as I’ve been able to. And I’ve tried to make sure that that was the case, because I love ‘Hellraiser’. I just wanted to [give it the treatment] I think that it deserves. Even when we had a low budget and a short period of time to complete the movie.

B-D: Are you guys aiming for a theatrical release and is there a release date in mind?

Right now, this is something I don’t know. The studio hasn’t watched the movie yet. I’ve been trying to work with my editor and just trying to deliver the best cut of the movie…and hopefully this weekend they’re gonna watch the movie and they’re gonna be excited about it and they’re gonna come up with some plan. But so far they have no plan as far as I know.

B-D: You’re becoming known for directing sequels to already-established franchises, so I’m just wondering if there’s anything original you’re working on.

Sequels to remakes. [Laughs]…I have a couple of projects that are stand-alone, and developing some stuff on my own when they let me, because I’ve been…busy this year. But yeah, there are a couple of things…you need to have like seven projects on the table to be able to shoot one movie. So right now we are developing several things and trying to see what’s next. Hopefully not a sequel. I would like that.