Stranger Things star David Harbour has massive shoes to fill when he replaces Ron Perlman in Lionsgate‘s Hellboy franchise. While both actors are playing the same exact character, Hellboy creator Mike Mignola says the two takes are very different.
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Speaking with IGN, Mignola says Harbour’s take on the character will be more serious and gritty.
“[David Harbour’s Hellboy is] a little bit more dramatic,” Mignola says. “There’s a different edge. [Ron Perlman] was very smooth as Hellboy, and there’s a whole different love interest vibe with Ron’s thing. Ron was almost playing this kind of old adolescent. And Harbour plays a grittier Hellboy, and a bit more explosive, emotionally.”
“It’s hard to explain, but it is a very different take,” he continued. “The beauty is, both of them, in their own way, feel like Hellboy. It’s almost like they’re just tipped it in two different directions. There’s something much gnarlier about David’s Hellboy.”
When Hellboy comes around next Spring, we’ll find Harbour’s rendition of the character well into his career with the B.P.R.D, whereas Perlman’s version of the character was at the beginning of his career. According to Mignola, Harbour’s character will be a well-known person by the public in contrast to Perlman’s underground take.
“In the del Toro films, Hellboy is kind of penned up, and kept secret, and that is not what we have here [in the upcoming film],” Mignola mentions. “This is truer to the comic, in that Hellboy’s been out in the world. He’s not a top-secret, hidden away guy. He’s an out-there-in-the-world, functioning, working adult.”
“So you’ve got that working stiff, been there, done that vibe with Harbour, that you just couldn’t have with Ron because it was played so differently,” Mignola elaborates. “[With Harbour’s Hellboy] there’s a little bit more angsty, find-your-place-in-the-world, a frustration with his role.”
Hellboy is directed by Neil Marshall, with a cast that also includes Daniel Dae Kim, Milla Jovovich, Ian McShane, Sasha Lane, Thomas Haden Church, Brian Gleeson, Sophie Okonedo, and Penelope Mitchell. Mignola had a hand in developing the script along with Andrew Cosby, Christopher Golden, and Aron Coleite.
What did you think of David Harbour as Hellboy in the new teaser trailer? Do you prefer has take to Perlman’s or the other way around? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
The Hellboy reboot crashes into theaters on April 12th, 2019.
