Comedian ends feud between Hellboy actors past and future before it begins

Just a few months ago, Stranger Things actor David Harbour was officially announced as the star of a new Hellboy movie franchise reboot, replacing the star of the first two films, Ron Perlman.

The news was a bit of a mixed bag for fans of the franchise, as Perlman was widely praised for his performance as the heroic demon with a brick fist and a fondness for pancakes and cigars. However, the former and future franchise stars appear to be on good terms, if a recent photo of the two at dinner together — along with actor and comedian Patton Oswalt — is to be believed.

Oswalt posted a photo on Twitter featuring the trio at dinner, with Oswalt flanked by the two Hellboy actors.

The summit dinner was a smashing success. Now, to launch my new pop duo, Hellboyz. @DavidKHarbour @perlmutations pic.twitter.com/nNkCycz2hD

— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) June 6, 2017

All three actors later offered some thoughts on the reason for such a meeting, what happened (or didn’t happen) during it, and why Oswalt was in attendance.

“Patton brokered a peace, it was incredible,” Harbour told Yahoo of the meeting. “I had reached out to Ron because I’m a big fan of his. He’s a really sweet guy and we wanted to just talk shop, and I just thought Patton Oswalt would be the perfect chaperone in case Ron and I started to make out or we started dancing too close or if we started getting in a fistfight.”

As for Perlman, he offered up his perspective on the meeting with his usual wit.

“Not since Bill Clinton, Menachem Begin, and Anwar Sadat has there been such an epic summit yeilding such a little result,” wrote Perlman on Facebook. “Apparently, Patton Oswalt, aka balvenieboy, thought it was a good idea to host David Harbour and yours truly for a detente dinner. The result: I gained 3 pounds and ruined my liver. Meanwhile, good luck kid! Signed, the babe.”

Harbour, who appears to have footed the bill for the meeting, if the photo is to be believed, also shared some thoughts on how his characters in Stranger Things and the upcoming Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen compare — and why one simply wouldn’t be possible without the other.

“I would not be doing Hellboy if it wasn’t for Stranger Things,” he told Yahoo. “A lot of people responded to [Stranger Things]. It’s got a lot of elements — Hopper is a very complicated character and has a lot of levels. And he is heroic, but he’s messed up, and I think they want this for this Hellboy as well.”

“I think the films did a certain thing, the comics do a certain thing,” he continued. “Hellboy is kind of a neurotic, messed-up individual who’s destined for a horrible fate. He’s destined to become the beast of the apocalypse. Whenever he shows up and does the right thing, people throw beers at him and show up with pitchforks and he still manages to do the right thing. I think it’s funny and it’s sweet and it’s weird, and hopefully I can bring that to it as well.”

Planned as an R-rated feature, Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen is expected to begin production this year with The Descent and Game of Thrones director Neil Marshall at the helm.