Hellboy Brandishes the Big Guns in New Photo

Half-demon Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense agent Hellboy (David Harbour) wields a big gun as he storms into a tense situation in a new look at Lionsgate’s upcoming reboot (via USA Today).

“I love that he is sort of destined to bring about the apocalypse, and yet he himself just wants to be, like, a good guy,” the Stranger Things star said of his anti-hero, who uses his oversized Right Hand of Doom as one of his many powerful weapons in the fight against dark forces — such as the newly emerged Blood Queen (Resident Evil’s Milla Jovovich).

“Hellboy is fundamentally a sweet-hearted guy but also a big old killer, just whacking people. We explore the horror of what it must be like to be from hell and to struggle to find your place among human beings.”

Hellboy’s status as a monster-slaying do-gooder will play a central role in the R-rated reboot of the 2004 film that starred Ron Pearlman, Harbour previously told Empire.

“There’s really a sense that you’re actually killing things, even if they are giants or monsters,” Harbour said.

“You’re chopping their heads off, you’re bathing in their blood and you’re feeling the complex feelings of actually cutting the heart out of another thing. We’re taking the time to deal with the fact that Hellboy is a killer. He’s a weapon.”

Director Neil Marshall (Game of Thrones) sought to stay true to creator Mike Mignola’s comic book series, the filmmaker told Empire:

“It was always a case of, ‘When in doubt, go back to the source material.’ Some of the stuff is pretty sick,” he said. “More violent and more bloody. We weren’t making it with handcuffs on.”

Mignola himself said the “darker film” was birthed in part to Marshall’s history as a director of horror — he previously steered Dog Soldiers and The Descent — and to better distance itself from the Guillermo del Toro-directed iteration of the franchise.

“If you are going to use a guy, let him do what he does best,” Mignola said.

“So we went through the script taking out the del Toro-isms and in some ways go out of our way to make sure we are doing a different Hellboy with its own distinct character [as a project] but still adhering to the comics.”

Starring David Harbour, Milla Jovovich, Sasha Lane, Daniel Dae Kim, and Ian McShane, Hellboy opens April 12.