Well folks, this is it. After years of back and forth chatter and speculation, director Guillermo del Toro has broken our geeky hearts and admitted that
Hellboy 3 just isn't going to happen. In a recent Reddit AMA session, he said,
“Well, you know, we don’t have that movie on the horizon, but the idea for it was to have Hellboy finally come to terms with the fact that his destiny, his inevitable destiny, is to become the beast of the Apocalypse, and having him and Liz face the sort of, that part of his nature, and he has to do it, in order to be able to ironically vanquish the foe that he has to face in the 3rd film. He has to become the best of the Apocalypse to be able to defend humanity, but at the same time he becomes a much darker being. It’s a very interesting ending to the series, but I don’t think it will happen.”
So, that about settles it. Despite a great idea, a passionate director, and a star more than willing to don the big red hand and sawed-off horns, Hellboy 3 just isn't going to happen. Now, there's obviously always a chance that someday, maybe, things will change, but I wouldn't count on it.