Filmmaker Neil Marshall made a name for himself by directing movies like Dog Soldiers, The Descent, and Doomsday before shifting gears to television where he received widespread acclaim for helming episodes of Game of Thrones, Hannibal, and more.
He first tackled a comic book adaptation with NBC's Constantine. The series toned down its title character for network television and was cancelled after 13 episodes; despite that, it was a hit with fans and, thanks to the popularity of Matt Ryan's interpretation, the Hellblazer found a second life on The CW.
In 2019, Marshall set his sights on Hellboy. The movie already had the odds stacked against it thanks to the demand for Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy 3, but issues behind the scenes derailed the project and it proved a critical and commercial disappointment.
Marshall has talked openly about the problems he faced with producers. Now, in an interview with us to discuss his must-see new action/crime thriller, Duchess, we asked the director if - following the poor response to the next Hellboy reboot's trailer - he thinks this character isn't destined for the screen.
"Maybe not, yeah. It could be that it's not meant for the screen in that sense or in a way that translates from the comic books," he acknowledged. "I love Guillermo's movies. I'm not that super loyal to the comic books in the sense that I treat them in their own right. I think they're good movies because Guillermo is an excellent director and, visually, they're stunning."
"I did my best and what I could with what I had under difficult circumstances, but even now, I was just down in Spain for a film festival and I had loads of people come up to me asking about Hellboy," Marshall continued. "They screened the film there and, who knows, maybe it will grow a little fanbase."
As for how he felt to see Ryan get a second chance at playing Constantine (he appeared in Arrow before becoming a series regular in Legends of Tomorrow), Marshall added, "That was great. It was fantastic to see. Again, it was the case of trying to do an R-Rated character in a U-Rated show! It was just impossible."
"They'd taken away his smoking, his drinking, his swearing and cursing...it was like, 'C'mon, what are we left with?' Matt was brilliant and I'm so glad the character went on to live another life."
Despite his struggles in the genre, Marshall was quick to tell us he remains open to the idea of revisiting a superhero project down the line. "I'd gladly return with the right material. Absolutely," he enthused.
Check out the interview below and come back here next week for a full transcription of our conversation about Duchess.
Duchess, a small-time crook, tries to enter the treacherous underworld of diamond trafficking and ends up left for dead when a deal goes wrong. Determined to seek retribution she launches into an unwavering pursuit for vengeance.
Duchess will be available on Digital and On Demand on August 9.