Ian McShane Reveals New ‘Hellboy’ Reboot Plot Details

Neil Marshall and David Harbour’s take on Hellboy is set to be vastly different from Guillermo Del Toro and Ron Perlman’s initial films, with a hard-R rating and an array of witches and demons on the way. However, the changes don’t stop there.

Ian McShane was cast in the reboot as Professor Broom, Hellboy’s adopted father, and the man who puts the entire B.P.R.D. together. While speaking with Fandom, McShane revealed that Broom and Hellboy are set to have a different dynamic than in the previous films, and a lot of that comes from where the movie chooses to begin their relationship.

“You don’t start with the birth of Hellboy… but the relationship between [Hellboy and Broom] is quite crusty,” McShane said. “Does he trust his father? [Hellboy asks], ‘Why didn’t you kill me? I’m a monster.’ It’s a little bit of a psychological battle against Hellboy.

“There’s one important moment in [the film] when [Hellboy] sort of thinks he’s fighting his own people, the outsiders. So, he’s being used by the insiders, which is me, if you like.”

While the relationship between the two might be taking a different direction, McShane is taking a similar approach to the role as the late William Hurt did in the previous films.

“I’m sort of playing this part as a slight homage to John [Hurt]. I mean, I’m not playing it like him, obviously… but the relationship [with Hellboy] is very much the same.”

Hellboy is currently set to hit theaters on January 11, 2019.