It’s not as easy for movies to get sequels as it once was. James Cameron continues to push the idea that a fourth installment in the Avatar franchise isn’t guaranteed because Avatar: Fire and Ash must bring in enough money to make the powers that be feel comfortable moving forward. He has a contingency plan, though, revealing that if he doesn’t get his way, he’ll hold a press conference and reveal the rest of Avatar‘s story. The idea might sound ridiculous, but at least Cameron won’t be leaving any meat on the bone, unlike another sci-fi franchise that walked away before wrapping things up.
Back in the early 2000s, filmmaker Guillermo del Toro hitched his wagon to Hellboy, a comic book series about a being from Hell who becomes a paranormal investigator. He brought Ron Perlman into the fold to play the titular character and got to work. Together, the duo and all the other members of the production delivered two critically acclaimed movies. A third was in the cards, but it never came to fruition. All these years later, Perlman is still holding out hope that the band can get back together.
“I thought we owed it to the fans,” Perlman said during an appearance on the Joe Vulpis Podcast after being asked about the third Hellboy film. “I still do. I’ll do it now, at 75 years old. If the right person comes along and says, ‘Okay,’ because, I mean, it was meant to be a trilogy.”
Perlman also mentioned that relighting the fire wouldn’t be simple. “I don’t know if there was ever a script,” he explained. “But I certainly know that Guillermo knew what the third movie was going to be like. It would’ve been epic. That’s why it was a shame.”
As great as Perlman’s passion is, the property isn’t waiting for the stars to align. The train is moving quickly, and it doesn’t seem excited about the prospect of stopping and letting old passengers aboard.
Hellboy Has a Thing for Promising What It Can’t Deliver
After the release of Hellboy II: The Golden Army, del Toro turned his sights to The Hobbit trilogy, which he had signed on to direct. Middle-earth didn’t roll out the red carpet for him, though, so he left the project and worked on a few passion projects. Meanwhile, the people in charge of Hellboy decided to go in a different direction, rebooting the franchise with the 2019 film starring David Harbour. Unfortunately, the movie crashed and burned, as did the latest reboot in 2024, Hellboy: The Crooked Man.
While two failed attempts at reimagining the franchise would seem like reason enough to reach out to del Toro, that doesn’t seem like it’s in the cards. Everyone has moved on to bigger and, in some cases, better things. But it’s good to know that, if the course starts to change, he’ll be ready to get back on the delivish horse.
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