David Harbour Doesn’t Think Hellboy 2 Will Happen
"I think the idea is to move on," David Harbour says about Hellboy 2.
Due to a combined mauling both by critics and audiences, the rebooted Hellboy will very likely not be granted a sequel.
Neil Marshall’s film, which apparently went through some unpleasant times behind the scenes, starred Stranger Things‘ David Harbour as the new Red, but it didn’t do well enough at either the US domestic or global box office to get people talking about where the franchise would go next.
In a new interview, Harbour was asked if his Hellboy had a future on the big screen, and his answer was predictably downbeat.
“There’s a lot of people who reach out to me who really loved it and really enjoyed the new take, and were just happy to see him back on the screen, but I know in the culture at large, I don’t think it was very well received,” Harbour told ComicBook.
The actor also admits he’s pretty much just had a nice pat on the back from the producers and been sent on his way:
“I don’t think it made a lot of money. I don’t really keep up with those things too much to be honest, but I don’t think the perception was that it was a hit, and so in that way, I don’t know that the risk is worth it. I think the idea is to move on. The producers spoke to me just saying ‘Great job,’ they really liked what I did, but I haven’t heard anything about a sequel, and I’m not hanging my hat on anything like that.”
While all of this makes sense financially, and taking into account that the film didn’t really get near the high watermark of Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy efforts, Harbour didn’t do a bad job of becoming the character, and it’s a shame that we won’t be able to find out where he could have taken Hellboy if a potential sequel had done a proper job of letting its director have more creative control. There are certainly still quite a few more excellent Hellboy stories from the comics we would like to see play out in theaters.
As for Harbour, he’s keeping busy, having since joined the MCU in the cast of Marvel’s Black Widow solo movie.
Written by
Kirsten Howard has paid their dues. Yes sir, the check is in the mail.