B.P.R.D. Will be in the Hellboy Reboot, Says Mike Mignola

With the Hellboy reboot ramping up as production begins next month, creator Mike Mignola has confirmed to Newsarama that the B.P.R.D. (Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense) will have a part to play in the movie.

“The B.P.R.D. figures into the movie. I don’t want to say who is and who isn’t in the movie,” Mignola confirmed. “I think it’s fair to say, however, that the primary focus is Hellboy and not a B.P.R.D. team movie.”

Throughout the comic book run of Dark Horse’s Hellboy and spin-off title B.P.R.D. the occult Bureau has included such oddball characters/creatures as Abraham Sapien (amphibious man), Elizabeth Sherman (pyrokinetic), Roger (homunculus), Johann Kraus (ectoplasmic physical medium), Captain Benjamin Daimio (were-jaguar) and Panya (ageless mummy), along with team leader Dr. Kate Corrigan. The two previous movies featured versions of Sapien (Doug Jones), Sherman (Selma Blair) and Kraus (Seth MacFarlane), along with human characters Professor Broom (John Hurt) and Tom Manning (Jeffrey Tambor).

Mignola also added that even though he had a great deal of input into Guillermo del Toro’s two films, he felt they diverged greatly from his vision for the character. Interestingly, even though he has very little input into the new Hellboy, he feels it will be closer to his vision.

“I was super involved Guillermo del Toro’s movies, way more than this one,” said Mignola. “In those I worked in pre-production and I was on set a lot of the time. As time went on, he and I had different idea on what should happen. And this new movie, I don’t have much hands-on involvement. I’m not doing any concept art. I am doing consulting, but I think from day one in discussions about the look and feel of this new movie, the director seems to be very much closer to the tone of the vision I wanted it to be… darker and more scary. Where ‘Hellboy II: The Golden Army’ was a light fantasy film, this will be very much darker – close to a horror film. I’ve met some people doing pre-production, and I visit the person doing the creature effects. I’m very happy with what I’ve seen so far. I give them my two cents, then get out of the way. But I’m very happy they’re asking my opinion, and giving me opportunities to solve certain creative problems.”

David Harbour of Stranger Things is set to star as the titular hero in Hellboy, which is slated to begin filming in September. Ian McShane (Deadwood, American Gods) will play Hellboy’s adoptive father, Professor Trevor Bruttenholm (aka Professor Broom), while Milla Jovovich (The Fifth Element, Resident Evil franchise) will play main villain the Blood Queen. Neil Marshall (The Descent, Game of Thrones) will direct from a script from Andrew Cosby (Eureka), Christopher Golden and Mike Mignola. Larry Gordon and Lloyd Levin will produce with Mike Richardson of Dark Horse Entertainment.

First appearing in Dark Horse comics beginning in 1993, Hellboy is a demon summoned from Hell by the Nazi occultists near the end of World War II. Raised by Professor Trevor Bruttenholm of Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, Hellboy went on to be billed as “The World’s greatest occult detective.” The adventures of the character have been chronicled in countless comics, including his time with the Bureau, his early years as a young boy, and even the time he spent in hell after dying on Earth. The main Hellboy title has also served as a launching pad for other characters and stories, including Abe Sapien, Lobster Johnson, BPRD, Sledgehammer 44 and others!

The first Hellboy movie hit theaters in April of 2004 with Ron Perlman in the title role. It was produced on a $66 million budget and earned $99 million worldwide. Del Toro’s sequel, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, debuted in July of 2008 on a budget of $85 million and earned $160.3 million.

Which B.P.R.D. characters would you like to see fight evil alongside Hellboy in the new movie? Let us know in the comments below!