Cancelled sequel and spin-offs Guillermo del Toro had envisioned a potential third installment in the
Hellboy film series as early as 2006, when
II was still in pre-production; the idea was not to end the second film on a cliffhanger, but rather to raise a minor plot point in its conclusion that a third entry could then expand upon. In the leadup to
The Golden Armys release, del Toro continued to express interest in a sequel: "I think we would all come back to do a third
Hellboy [...] I certainly know where we're going with the movie on the third one" – albeit indicating that his responsibilities with
adapting The Hobbit were his immediate priority (del Toro would exit the
Hobbit project in 2010). In June 2010, del Toro speculated that
Hellboy 3 could happen, but emphasized it would not be his next film as a screenplay had yet to be written. Del Toro and Ron Perlman appeared at the 2012
San Diego Comic-Con to promote
Pacific Rim; having been inspired by a recent
Make-A-Wish function in which Perlman appeared in full Hellboy makeup for a terminally ill boy, del Toro announced that the duo were "going to make an effort" to make
Hellboy 3, despite not having communicated with Mignola or connected with a studio. On April 5, 2013, in an interview with
Comic Book Resources, Hellboy creator
Mike Mignola remarked that a third
Hellboy film was unlikely to emerge, joking that he found himself "explaining endlessly ... that there's no
Hellboy 3 movie". Mignola also vetoed the idea of telling the story of
Hellboy 3 in comic book form, out of a desire to keep the comic and film versions of
Hellboy separate. The budget and scale of a potential threequel was often mentioned as an obstacle to its production. Del Toro indicated that the movie would need "about $150 million" – nearly double the $85 million budget of
The Golden Army – to render its apocalyptic scale of Hellboy becoming
the beast of the Apocalypse. Del Toro reiterated these issues in a 2014
Reddit AMA, admitting that "we don't have that movie on the horizon." He explained that the first two
Hellboy movies underperformed in theaters but made more money on
home video rentals and sales, and that as that profit stream was declining with the rise of
streaming studios had become wary of financing a project like
Hellboy 3. Attempts were made to produce
Hellboy 3 for
Legendary Pictures, particularly in the wake of del Toro's production of
Pacific Rim with the company. Legendary founder and then-CEO/chairman
Thomas Tull had expressed a desire to "see
Hellboy 3" in 2013, leading del Toro to reach out him to resolve the series. The production company indicated potential for funding
Hellboy 3 if
the sequel to Pacific Rim (initially planned to be written and directed by del Toro) performed well at the box office; though as del Toro was replaced in both directorial and writing roles while
Pacific Rim Uprising was still in pre-production, this deal presumably fell through. In February 2017, del Toro announced via Twitter that, after meeting with all parties,
Hellboy 3 "100% [...] will not happen", emphasizing that this would be his final word on the project. Perlman remained enthusiastic about and committed to the project over the years, going as far as turning down an appearance in a
Hellboy project that would not involve del Toro.
Hellboy: Silverlance spinoff In 2010,
Hellboy screenwriter
Peter Briggs was asked by Universal to script a spin-off centering on Prince Nuada, and provisionally agreed that Briggs could direct the film in New Zealand. Briggs began work on an outline with co-writer Aaron Mason. Titled
Hellboy: Silverlance, the script was a
B.P.R.D. story featuring Abe Sapien as the main character with Hellboy in a supporting role. Moving into the new B.P.R.D. headquarters in Colorado, Abe is troubled by his psychic connection with Princess Nuala, and begins researching the elves' history. The film would have shown Nuada's adventures throughout history, including his rivalry with a fairy courtier who orchestrates Nuada's exile in hopes of marrying Nuala and seizing control of the fairy kingdom; Nuada first meeting Mister Wink by saving him from a troupe of soldiers during the
Spanish Inquisition; and Nuada in
Nazi Germany, engineering a pact to keep various supernatural entities safe during
World War II (with Nuada and
Kroenen fighting in a "friendly" match for Project Ragnarok men). Doug Jones would have played both Abe and the Angel of Death, who strikes a bargain with Nuada.
Rupert Evans's Agent Myers would also have returned. The story climaxed at the new B.P.R.D. headquarters, with the return of
Rasputin's summoning gauntlet. Universal wanted to proceed with the project, but it emerged that del Toro's
Hellboy 3 was still a possibility, so
Silverlance was shelved. In 2015, Briggs received another call from Universal, saying that
Hellboy 3 had been cancelled and asking him and Mason to return for a reworked
Silverlance, with producer
Lawrence Gordon involved. The caveat was that Hellboy could not appear, but the writers managed to get the character a cameo appearance at the climax. If successful, the film would have launched a
From the Files of the B.P.R.D. spin-off series. On May 8, 2017, it was announced that
Millennium Films was in negotiations with producers Larry Gordon and
Lloyd Levin for a film with the working title
Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen, with Marshall in talks to direct and
Stranger Things star
David Harbour expected to play Hellboy. Hellboy creator Mike Mignola co-wrote the script with Cosby and
Christopher Golden. On August 8, 2017,
Lionsgate confirmed that the project would finally only be known as
Hellboy. The film was released on April 12, 2019, to negative reviews and performed poorly at the box office. In February 2023, Millennium Media announced plans for a new live-action reboot titled
Hellboy: The Crooked Man, the first in a planned series of films.
Brian Taylor directed from a script by Mignola and Golden, based on the
2008 comic of the same name. The film was co-produced between Nu Boyana and Campbell Grobman Film and is presented by Millennium Media in association with Dark Horse Entertainment. The film was released
direct-to-VOD in the United States on October 8, 2024. ==Notes==