Hellboy Reboot Casts Milla Jovovich As Villain
The Blood Queen has finally taken her throne.
As reported by Deadline, Milla Jovovich has been cast in the upcoming Hellboy reboot as the central antagonist, the Blood Queen.
The film was previously reported to be called Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen, but it's recently been confirmed that the upcoming flick is simply titled Hellboy.
The 41-year-old actress joins Stranger Things standout David Harbour, who is set to play the eponymous red-skinned hero, and American Gods star Ian McShane, who portrays Professor Trevor "Broom" Bruttenholm, Hellboy's adoptive father.
Directed by Neil Marshall, a filmmaker who exploded into the mainstream film world with his spine-tingling pic The Descent and impressed television lovers with his work on HBO's hit fantasy drama series Game of Thrones, Hellboy has been described as a dark, gritty, and R-rated reboot of the mid-2000s film franchise first headed up by Guillermo del Toro.
Harbour, who replaces original Hellboy actor Ron Perlman, a fact some fans were severely displeased with when the project was first announced, previously discussed why the upcoming reboot will feel more like a character pic than an out-and-out superhero movie.
"[Hellboy] is a whole new thing. I'd always been a fan of the comics and there's a darker tone to it and I think in the climate we have now there's kind of... a desire for more of that," said Harbour. "The script is good and this guy Neil Marshall is directing who's really good and the aesthetic is great. So often, the superhero movies can be really fun and I want this to be really fun, but I also want it to be more of a character piece and more about this dude's struggle. I think it could be interesting."
Former Heroes producer Aron Coleite is currently working on the latest draft of the film's script, penned by Eureka creator Andrew Crosby, Buffy the Vampire Slayer writer Christopher Golden, and Hellboy comics creator Mike Mignola, who introduced the devilish character to the indie circuit in 1993. In the years since, Hellboy quickly became a comic icon, due in large part to his unique and somewhat humble background as a demon raised by a professor, who works his way up to a position in the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense.
Jovovich's involvement with Hellboy isn't entirely surprising, considering she's been immersed in the sci-fi action genre for quite some time. From 2002 until 2016, Jovovich wore the white hat as Alice in the Resident Evil film franchise. The actress has also received praise for her work in The Fifth Element and Ultraviolet. It certainly seems she has both the acting chops and the action movie experience to give a riveting performance as the Blood Queen.
Hellboy is set to starting shoot in the U.K. and Bulgaria in September. At the time of writing, the reboot doesn't have a release date, but we'll update you when we learn more.
In the meantime, check out how the cast of the original Hellboy film should really look.