It looks like the long-awaited third installment to Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy series, starring Ron Perlman, is definitely not happening, the director revealed on Tuesday via Twitter.
Reportedly, del Toro had been actively campaigning for weeks to get a follow-up to the 2004 original and 2008’s The Golden Army off the ground, but it looks like no studio was interested.
“Hellboy 3 Sorry to report: Spoke w all parties. Must report that 100% the sequel will not happen. And that is to be the final thing about it,” del Toro Tweeted to his more than 600,000 followers.
Hellboy 3 Sorry to report: Spoke w all parties. Must report that 100% the sequel will not happen. And that is to be the final thing about it
— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) February 21, 2017
In January, del Toro posted a poll on his Twitter feed, asking fans whether they’d be interested in seeing a third installment. Nearly 130.000 users, with 68% of respondents answering in the affirmative. A couple of days later, del Toro revealed that had been in contact with Perlman about doing another film.
“I spoke with Ron Perlman. He’s in for the sit down. Will approach [character creator Mike] Mignola next. Will keep you posted. Very moved by your love of pt I & II,” del Toro tweeted on Jan 19.
Informal poll (let's see how many votes we get in 24 hours)
Hellboy III— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) January 18, 2017
I spoke with Ron Perlman. He's in for the sit down. Will approach Mignola next. Will keep you posted. Very moved by your love of pt I & II
— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) January 19, 2017
Perlman also sent out a tweet in response to the news, jokingly posting, “Superhero seeks employment.” Something tells us he’ll be just fine.
Superhero seeks employment. Likes, pizza, cats, and the Marx bros. https://t.co/TnWaFlE3tx
— Ron Perlman (@perlmutations) February 21, 2017
It’s unclear why del Toro was unable to get Hellboy 3 up-and-running but, alas, it looks like fans will have to make do with the two Hellboy films that do exist.
What a bummer.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter