Mike Mignola reassures fans that the BRPD will appear in the Hellboy reboot

August 10th 2017, 3:40pm

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Not going to lie, I was blindsided by the fact we were getting a HELLBOY reboot instead of an awesome capper to del Toro’s movie trilogy, like most nerds. There was a sense of betrayal to it, but I’ve since come around. David Harbour is a great choice as the eponymous Hellboy, Ian McShane will be a great Professor Broom, and the fact that it will be darker, rated-R, and closer to the comics is great news as well. So I’m definitely giving it the benefit of the doubt right now.

But what about the rest of the B.P.R.D? They were some of the best parts of the comics and movies! Well, here’s what HELLBOY comics creator – who is a consultant on the new film – had to say about that:

The B.P.R.D. figures into the movie. I don’t want to say who is and who isn’t in the movie…I think it’s fair to say, however, that the primary focus is Hellboy and not a B.P.R.D. team movie.

That’s great! Like I said, many of the best parts of the HELLBOY stories came from there (so much so that the B.P.R.D. eventually got their own solo series). Mingola then went on to say, in comparing the new movie to the del Toro ones:

I was super involved Guillermo del Toro’s movies, way more than this one…[however] in those I worked in pre-production and I was on set a lot of the time. As time went on, he and I had different idea on what should happen. And this new movie, I don’t have much hands-on involvement. I’m not doing any concept art. I am doing consulting, but I think from day one in discussions about the look and feel of this new movie, the director seems to be very much closer to the tone of the vision I wanted it to be… darker and more scary. Where ‘Hellboy II: The Golden Army’ was a light fantasy film, this will be very much darker – close to a horror film. I’ve met some people doing pre-production, and I visit the person doing the creature effects. I’m very happy with what I’ve seen so far. I give them my two cents, then get out of the way. But I’m very happy they’re asking my opinion, and giving me opportunities to solve certain creative problems.

Well, that’s interesting to hear. It seems that the creative differences between the two could’ve been what derailed the original would-be trilogy. Who knows. We don’t live in that universe, and we’ll have to make due with the remake. Hopefully it doesn’t disappoint.