The first trailer for Hellboy: The Crooked Man received a mixed response from fans of Big Red and something tells us this new look at Jack Kesy as the title character won't change many minds.
While this approach to the iconic hero is in line with the comics, it feels a little low-budget. David Harbour's take went much heavier on prosthetics and didn't look much better, to be fair. However, the original big screen iteration dreamed up by Guillermo del Toro and Ron Perlman remains beloved.
It would be wrong not to give Hellboy: The Crooked Man a fair shot, of course, and it will be interesting to see whether it exceeds expectations later this year (it's mid-July and we still don't have a confirmed release date).
Last October, we learned that Ketchup Entertainment acquired the reboot; for those of you who may not be aware, they're the studio responsible for distributing movies like Ben Affleck's critically panned Hypnotic and knock-offs like Superfast! (Fast & Furious) and The Starving Games (The Hunger Games).
"We are very excited by this latest acquisition, this film holds a special place in the hearts of fans worldwide and we are committed to preserving and building its legacy as we bring the film to fans and new audiences," Ketchup Entertainment CEO Gareth West said at the time. "We are confident that our collaboration with Jeffrey Greenstein and the exceptional team at Millennium Media will enable us to achieve just that."
Millennium Media's Jeffrey Greenstein added, "At a time when content is never more in demand, it’s exciting to partner with a group who is not only passionate about movies, but who are also stepping up to distribute the types of commercial films that we believe audiences crave."
"Despite all of the changes in the marketplace, it’s refreshing to start building a pipeline with Ketchup and we are excited to build upon this first film together."
Director Brian Taylor (Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance) is at the helm of a movie which sets out to expand Hellboy's world through some of the most beloved issues of the comic series. Mignola penned the screenplay alongside his Dark Horse Comics collaborator Chris Golden, suggesting this will be a comic-accurate take on the anti-hero.
The official synopsis for Hellboy: The Crooked Man reads, "Stranded in 1950s rural Appalachia, Hellboy and a rookie BPRD agent discover a small community haunted by witches, led by the Crooked Man, a local devil with a troubling connection to Hellboy's past."
On the page, The Crooked Man was an eighteenth-century miser and war profiteer named Jeremiah Witkins who was hanged for his crimes yet returned from Hell as the region's resident Devil.
The movie's cast is led by Jack Kesy (Deadpool 2) as Hellboy, Jefferson White (Yellowstone) as Tom Ferrell, and Adeline Rudolph (Resident Evil) playing Bobbie Jo Song. We'll also see Leah McNamara as Effie Kolb, Joseph Marcell as Reverend Watts, Hannah Margetson as Cora Fisher, and Martin Bassindale as the Crooked Man.
Hellboy: The Crooked Man is set to be released in theaters later this year.