Good news, Hellboy fans: A new red-band trailer for Neil Marshall’s impending reboot has arrived, and the end of the world in a storm of fire and blood has never looked more entertaining.
Not only does the trailer offer a better look at Stranger Things star David Harbour’s Hellboy in action, but the rest of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (BPRD) makes an appearance, too. Deadwood and American Gods star Ian McShane, who plays BPRD founder Trevor Bruttenholm, makes a brief appearance, as well as The Miseducation of Cameron Post‘s Sasha Lane, who plays Alice Monaghan, a woman whose childhood encounter with faeries has shaped her life. Most notable, however, might be the appearance of Lost and Hawaii 5-0 actor Daniel Dae Kim as Ben Daimio, a shape-shifting BPRD agent with a serious grudge against Hellboy and his demonic ilk.
There are also plenty of jokes, a smattering of intense, fast-paced action scenes, a romantic moment set within a torrent of blood, some underworld dragon-riding shots, a veritable horde of monsters, and a big focus on Hellboy’s mysterious Right Hand of Doom. In other words, it’s Hellboy through and through.
The trailer is heavy on action and comedy, as well as scenes featuring Nimue, the former Lady of the Lake of Arthurian legend, played by Milla Jovovich. In the Hellboy comics, Nimue’s resurrection heralds the beginning of the apocalypse, forcing Hellboy and his teammates to hunt down the legendary sword Excalibur in order to save the world.
The first trailer for Hellboy was released in December 2018, and gave audiences an initial preview of Harbour’s version of Hellboy and the tone of the film.
Scheduled to hit theaters on April 12, Hellboy will adapt portions of Hellboy creator Mike Mignola’s Darkness Calls, The Wild Hunt, and The Storm and the Fury graphic novels. The character first appeared in Mignola’s Seed of Destruction miniseries, which Dark Horse Comics published in 1994.
Guillermo del Toro, who directed 2004’s Hellboy and its sequel, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, is not involved in the reboot, nor is former Hellboy star Ron Perlman. However, del Toro has given the film his blessing, while Perlman and Harbour made peace at a dinner moderated by comedian Patton Oswalt.
The fresh cast isn’t the only thing that will set 2019’s Hellboy apart from its predecessors, either. While the new trailer offers as much comedy as horror, Hellboy will be rated R, and will reportedly focus more on the source material’s darker elements.
Updated on March 1, 2019: Added a new trailer for the film.
