'Hellboy 3': Ron Perlman Nixes Idea of Crowdfunding Campaign

Ron Perlman really wants to do a third Hellboy movie, but not enough to ask fans to pay for it.

Perlman described himself as "very, very surprised" by the fan response to a recent tweet in which he said that he wanted a third installment of the Guillermo del Toro-directed movie series based on Mike Mignola's comic book series during an interview with Digital Spy. "I just sent it out like I send out most of my tweets, you know, just as a goof," he said.

"It started off a week's worth of incredible feedback and enthusiasm and passion, which kind of surprised me and humbled me, and it's still going," Perlman admitted. Asked if he was interested in using that enthusiasm to power a crowdfunding campaign, however, his response was simple.

"I wouldn't want to be involved in a crowdfunding [campaign]," he said. "I don't think it's the fans' job to fund a movie, I think it's up to the people who do it professionally. I think it's the fans' job to sit back and buy popcorn and coke and watch the movie and enjoy it."

Somewhere, Rob Thomas is feeling the urge to disagree about that — if not a number of Hellboy fans who would be willing to put their money where their mouths are to see how the story ends.

Guillermo del Toro Teases 'Hellboy III' on Twitter

Although the original comic book incarnation of Mike Mignola's Hellboy is stuck in hell, his cinematic counterpart might be about to make a surprise comeback, with Guillermo del Toro suddenly teasing fans with the prospect of Hellboy III via his Twitter feed.

With no warning, del Toro asked his followers on Wednesday morning what they thought about a third Hellboy movie, offering two options: "Yes" and "Hell, yes." Resistance, it seems, is not an option. That was followed by a second tweet promising that if the poll received 100,000 votes in 24 hours, he would discuss the project with Hellboy creator Mike Mignola and Hellboy himself, Ron Perlman. (The latter has previously teased that he knows what the third movie would include, "and it's bad-ass.")

As of this writing, he's got a ways to go — the poll has tallied fewer than 9,000 votes — but if there's one thing the internet knows how to do, it's make something viral. Vote early, and vote often. It might be the only way we'll get Hellboy III.

'Hellboy' Reboot in the Works With 'Stranger Things' Star David Harbour

Hellboy, the demonic comic book hero turned Guillermo del Toro film franchise, is poised to return to the big screen, this time without the filmmaker at the helm.

Millennium is in negotiations with producers Larry Gordon and Lloyd Levin for a new installment that would reboot and relaunch the property. Mike Richardson of Dark Horse Entertainment is also producing.

Neil Marshall, the horror director who broke out with The Descent and won raves for his work on Game of Thrones, is attached to direct the project, which has a working title of Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen and has a script by Andrew Cosby, Christopher Golden and Hellboy creator Mike Mignola.

Del Toro is not involved, nor is Ron Perlman, the actor who inhabited the red-skinned, cigar-chomping devil in the two previous installments.

Rather, David Harbour, the Stranger Things star, is in talks to play Hellboy.

If a deal is made, Millennium would become the third company to make a Hellboy movie in as many releases.

Hellboy was created in 1993 by Mignola and became an indie comic hit as it told of a demon, raised by a professor, working to fight supernatural evildoers for an organization called Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense.

Del Toro co-wrote and directed the first adaptation, which was made by Revolution Studios and released by Sony in 2004. The movie made $60 million domestically (another $40 million internationally, asterisked by the fact that this was the era before international box-office dominated performance) on a budget of $66 million.

The second movie was made by Universal with the same team — del Toro and Perlman — but its box-office mojo was cut short when The Dark Knight, directed by Christopher Nolan and featuring Heath Ledger as the Joker, opened six days later.

But both movies engendered strong cult followings and there were rumblings of a third installment. Last year, del Toro, Dark Horse Entertainment, Levin and Gordon, the latter of whom controls the rights, explored their options. However, the budget was a stumbling block, with del Toro wanting a bigger canvas for his vision. In the end, the producers decided a reboot and relaunch was the more feasible route.

Marshall is now developing a new script with Aron Coleite, who worked on NBC's Heroes and is also working on the new Star Trek: Discovery series. He will also act as a producer with his partner Marc Helwig.

I'm glad they're doing it, but a reboot sounds like a tedious idea.

I'm surprised it's even getting made and I think Del Toro had the wrong idea for the movie despite being the perfect director for the job -- it's like he wanted to do a supernatural X-Men movie when he should have done "Pan's Labyrinth... with Superheroes".

Isn't Perlman getting a little long in the tooth to play the role again?

Hellboy was in his 60's when he died

Thanks for the spoiler.

Not necessarily. It could mean that he took a trip to Jersey.

Well, then he's Better Off Dead.

Now THAT was a good movie!