Ron Perlman and Guillermo del Toro were a perfect match when the two brought Hellboy to the big screen back in 2004, and in a sequel four years later. Now, on the eve of turning 72, Perlman says he’s willing to step into the make-up room again for Hellboy 3, if only for the fans.
In an interview with Variety, Perlman was asked whether he’d be game to make a Hellboy 3, to which the actor responded: “Am I eager to do Hellboy 3? No, I’m 71 f*cking years old,” Perlman says. “[But] we owe this to the fans, and we should give it to them because it would be an epic conclusion.”
Hellboy, based on the Dark Horse comic by Mike Mignola, is the story of a covert government agency tasked with fighting supernatural forces. Hellboy, a half-demon summoned from hell by the Nazis, is one of the members of this agency.
A sequel, titled Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, was released in 2008. While both films were praised for bringing an original superhero movie to the big screen with Guillermo del Toro’s trademark style, particularly the focus on practical effects and costuming, the series was never a financial giant the way later comic movies were.
However, The Golden Army was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Makeup, a testament to the film’s quality design.
Perlman and del Toro have spoken about a desire to make a third Hellboy movie together in the past, but the movie was never more than a wish by the two creators. Instead, in 2019 a Hellboy reboot starring David Harbour was released, but it was a critical and box office bomb.
So now, 13 years after The Golden Army, Perlman is on record to say he would like to make another one despite being in his 70s. And it’s all for you, the fans.
Perlman and del Toro are teaming up again for an upcoming stop-motion Pinocchio movie for Netflix, produced by the Jim Hensen Company.
Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.
