Hellboy: Encyclopedia II - Hellboy - Other media

Hellboy - Other media

Hellboy - Feature films

Guillermo del Toro directed a film adaptation titled Hellboy in 2004, a screenplay was originally written by Peter Briggs in 1997. Del Toro, a fan of Mignola's work, had previously written the preface to Hellboy: Conqueror Worm. The film starred Ron Perlman as Hellboy (the favourite of both del Toro and Mike Mignola for the role), Selma Blair as Liz Sherman, Rupert Evans as FBI Special Agent John Myers (a character invented for the film), John Hurt as Prof. Trevor Bruttenholm, Doug Jones as Abe Sapien (voiced by an uncredited David Hyde Pierce), Karel Roden as Rasputin, and Jeffrey Tambor as FBI Senior Special Agent Thomas Manning. The film received mixed but generally positive reviews and a fair performance at the box office. However, the film debuted in theaters at the same time The Passion of the Christ debuted, citing conservative criticism. According to Guillermo del Toro's DVD commentary, some theaters would re-title the film on their signs, or outright refuse to play it to avoid running a "devil" movie against Passion.

The film begins with a simplified version of Hellboy's origin (see above) and then jumps to the present day, when FBI Agent John Myers joins the B.P.R.D. as Hellboy's new "minder". The plot draws mostly from the comic storyline Seed of Destruction, but also uses elements from other stories, most notably The Right Hand of Doom and Box Full of Evil.

The movie makes a passing reference to the Spear of Longinus, supposedly acquired by Hitler in 1938, and now safeguarded by the B.P.R.D.. Kroenen is also a more prominent character in the movie than in the comics.

A sequel to this movie, Hellboy 2, is currently under development by director del Toro, and will feature the returning talents of Perlman, Blair, Jones, and Hurt. The only plot details given so far have alluded to a shift to more folklore rather than action, with heavy European overtones. It is also noted that the character of Johan Kraus has been added to the team, but Roger has not (he was, however, written into the plot as a very prominant character in early drafts of the script).

Hellboy - Videogames

A Hellboy videogame called Hellboy: Asylum Seeker was also previously released for the PC and the PlayStation, by Cryo Interactive. It has no relation with the recent movie.

On April 6, 2005, Hellboy movie director Guillermo Del Toro announced on his official site that he had made a deal with developer Konami to create a new Hellboy videogame based on the movie version of the character and his world, featuring new monsters, new villains, and a new storyline.

Hellboy - Role playing game

A Hellboy sourcebook and role playing game was also published by Steve Jackson Games, using the GURPS system.

Hellboy - Animated Series

On November 9, 2005, IDT Entertainment issued a press release announcing that the company had licensed the rights to develop "animated content for television and home entertainment" based on the Hellboy comic. Ron Perlman, who played Hellboy in the feature film, will provide the voice for the animated Hellboy, and Selma Blair, who played Liz Sherman in the film, will also reprise her role for the show.

While no official announcement has been made regarding when and where the show will run, rumored plans include two 70-minute animated movies that will air on the Cartoon Network and then be released on DVD, with the first one to air October 2006.

Hellboy Animated Official Production Diary of the Hellboy Animated Projects

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Other media", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki