Del Toro & Ron Pearlman Want To Do Hellboy 3
Speaking at the San Diego Comic Con 2012 promoting their new giant monster movie Pacific Rim, Director Guillermo Del Toro and star Ron Pearlman confirmed they’re both trying to make a third Hellboy film a reality.
Guillermo Del Toro had previously publically admitted defeat in his efforts to finish his intended trilogy of films based on the cult Dark Horse comicbook characters of Mike Mignola. He was distracted by countless other projects but he now clearly has a renewed enthusiasm for the franchise, stating:
“I can say publicly that now we are together in trying [to do Hellboy 3].”
Explaining his newfound determination to conclude the Hellboy saga, the genius director referenced the recent news coverage of Ron Pearlman’s visit to a young fan battling Leukaemia while dressed as Hellboy on behalf of the Make A Wish Foundation:
”I’ve encountered a lot of kids who are fans of the movies, but to hear the story of this kid who was watching the movies while going through treatment, it really just moved me a lot. We’re going to make an effort to do it. I hope it happens.”
Ron Perlman who plays the monster battling demonic hero, quickly added his own vocal support to the project
“The [first] two movies were really set up to have this unbelievable resolve. Everything that was done in both movies was leading up to this destiny, written in stone, of what Hellboy has been summoned to Earth to do. To not do it, particularly in light of the scope that Guillermo is thinking of for the resolve, would be in my mind a little bit of a shame.”
Time will tell if the studios will share their enthusiasm, but the commercial success of Pacific Rim could play a big factor. Yet another reason to go see it repeatedly! As if you needed an excuse to watch giant robots fight space monsters.
Daniel Radcliffe To Star In Horns
Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe may have finished his wand waving adventures, but smash hit horror The Woman In Black proved he can still work magic at the Box Office. He’s now set to star in Horns, a big screen adaptation of a book written by Joe Hill, the son of iconic horror author Stephen King.
Horns is the story of Ig Perrish, a young man who wakes from a night of binge drinking to discover actual horns on his head. Learning that these sinister appendages have the supernatural power to expose people’s darkest secrets, he uses them to seek out the person responsible for the recent brutal murder of his girlfriend.
Alexandre Aja the man responsible for infamous French slasher film Switchblade Romance, is set to direct the brooding and violent tale, with production on Horns starting later this year. It represents another clear statement of intent by Radcliffe to look beyond his devoted Potter fanbase to win the acclaim of mature muggles through demanding adult roles.
Jessica Biel Offered Wolverine Role
Jessica Biel has reportedly been offered the role of Viper in The Wolverine, Hugh Jackman’s Japan set adventure as the gravel voiced ademantium clawed mutant hero.
Director James Mangold has already assembled a cast including Hiroyuki Sanada, Hal Yamanouchi, Rila Fukushima, Will Yun Lee , Model Tao Okamoto and Grimm star Brian Tee.
It remains to be seen whether Biel will accept the role but she’ll next be on our screens catfighting with Kate Beckinsdale in the rebooted Total Recall. She’s also starring in Alfred Hitchcock biopic Hitchcock as Psycho silver screen siren Vera Miles.
Fantastic Four Reboot Gets Writer
20th Century Fox just announced they’d picked Chronicle Director Josh Trank for the task of rebooting Fantastic Four and now it seems they have a screenwriter as well. Newcomer Jeremy Slater has landed the chance to provide a script for the re-launched superhero team’s new adventures.
Slater recently provided Lionsgate with a script about H.P.Lovecraft and Universal with a teen spy comedy MY SPY, so he’s certainly in demand. Combined with Josh Trank’s welcomed appointment it seems Fox is pretty determined to take a fresh approach to their costume clad blockbusters, having seen Matthew Vaughan work such wonders with X-Men First Class.
Thor 2 Loses Villain Mads Mikkelsen
Marvel superhero sequel Thor 2 has lost its main villain with Mads Mikkelsen dropping out due to a scheduling conflict with his new NBC TV series Hannibal.
Hannibal is a prequel to Silence of the Lambs, exploring the relationship between sociopathic cannibal Dr Hannibal Lecter and FBI agent Will Graham. Ironically another American TV network is also currently developing a new series based around the backstory of Clarice Starling.
Here’s what Dannish star Mads Mikkelsen had to say about missing out on Thor 2:
“Yeah, that’s not happening unfortunately. I had a meeting with them, but they were a little too late. And then Hannibal came in, and everything just came in the same period, so now it’s not happening.”
Ironically 20th Century Fox also recently lost director David Slade (30 Days of Night, Twilight Eclipse) to Hannibal, after he abandoned their Daredevil reboot to direct the pilot of the new show.
No doubt both studios will be eager to find quick replacements as they rush to capitalise on the astonishing success of The Avengers with a growing list of films based on Marvel’s most popular franchises.
It remains to be seen who Marvel will now turn to for villainous duties in Thor 2… but don’t panic… we still have Loki.