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Griff Griffin is a Newsweek pop culture writer based in London. His focus is reporting on movies, streaming, and everything happening in the world of entertainment. He has in-depth knowledge of cinema and TV, and has over 12 years of professional journalistic experience. Griff joined Newsweek in 2024 from the Sports Illustrated and had previously worked at Men's Journal, Yahoo, and PCGamesN. He is a graduate of the University of Nottingham. You can get in touch with Griff by emailing g.griffin@newsweek.com. You can find him on X @gamegriffin. Languages: English
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Don't count Ron Perlman out of Hellboy just yet. The actor says he'll be back in the role under one condition, and one condition only.
That's if Guillermo del Toro directs him. The filmmaker helmed 20024's first Hellboy movie, as well as 2008's Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Both films star Pearlman as Hellboy, the gun-toting, centuries-old half-human, half-demon who has superhuman strength and a virtually indestructible arm made from stone.
"For Guillermo I would," Pearlman tells TheHashtagShow of his willingness to reprise his popular comic book character. "That's his franchise as far as I'm concerned, and I'm his boy."
Hellboy was considered a modest success, grossing $99 million against a production budget of roughly $65 million, and garnering a critic score of 81% on Rotten Tomatoes. Hellboy II: The Golden Army outdid it with $168 million at the box office against a production budget of roughly $85 million, and a critic score of 86%.
That was del Toro's last Hellboy movie, with the director going on to make Pacific Rim, Crimson Peak, and The Shape of Water, which won that year's Best Picture Oscar.
In Pearlman's interview, the actor revealed he's turned down playing Hellboy since, saying: "I had an opportunity to play the character for other people and I passed." While he didn't mention who he turned down, his words suggest he was first on the call sheet for 2019's Hellboy reboot, which was eventually passed to Stranger Things star David Harbour.
Last year, another Hellboy film released in Hellboy: The Crooked Man. Again, Pearlman was likely approached to star, but the role went to Jack Kesy. There are no other Hellboy films on the horizon, and if there were, del Toro probably wouldn't be in the director's seat.
What is Guillermo del Toro's Next Film?
He's currently working on three films in Frankenstein with Jacob Elordi and Oscar Isaac), The Buried Giant, and Fantastic Voyage. However, for those excited to see Pearlman play his iconic demon character once more, it's good to know he's at least up for it.
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