Conskipper may be brand new, but our journalists have been covering the world of pop culture conventions for years. The following story was originally written by Nick Banks as a freelancer on October 7th, 2018.
The Hellboy panel at New York Comic Con pleased fans with a first glimpse at Neil Marshall’s upcoming reboot (and the secret footage will hopefully be released for everyone who wasn’t at the panel soon) and offered some candid comments from the cast and Marshall himself.
The panel featured David Harbour, Milla Jovovich (via satellite), Daniel Dae Kim, Sasha Lane and Mike Mignola. One of the main topics discussed was the difference between the new film and the earlier Guillermo Del Toro films, and one of the main differences seems to be a more ‘faithful” take on the character and his comic book roots according to Mignola. The original creator stated that “I’m really excited to be part of those conversations. This version is so close to the comic that we will be able to go back to the comic to pick what happens next.” Mignola was also praised Marshall, saying “It was actually very sweet, when the producers were initially talking about Neil, they asked me if I would write an email and tell him that I wanted him to do the movie. I was like, ‘What the hell would he care what I think?’ But I think he was really appreciative.”
Kim, who plays Ben Daimio in the film (after Ed Skrein was removed from the role due to a “white-washing” controversy), said that the film is “… a little darker and it’s a little funnier. Neil is a very funny man, and that’s something that a lot of people don’t get to see.”
Harbour, taking over the role from the original Hellboy, Ron Perlman, recognized that he would have tough shoes to fill, and claimed that he “…was nervous because Ron’s iconic and he’s a great Hellboy. So I was like, I’m not going to imitate that. I’m going to do my own thing because I do not do what he does. My approach was a little bit more down and dirty. My Hellboy feels a little younger. He’s got hair, which is a big thing. He’s got a lot more inner turmoil, he’s a little more lost in the universe. He’s got more what I bring.”
Harbour also stressed that the new film “…has a completely different feel. I want to get to the core of Mike’s stuff, which to me is horror, even an existential kind of horror. It has a bit more of a Mignola feel rather than a Guillermo del Toro feel.”
Harbour also believes that Marshall is “a really great director, for horror stuff especially. He knows how to do scares and monsters, which is so great for this. At its core, it’s a monster movie, more than it is a superhero movie.”