Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy movies have a lot of fans and, therefore, Neil Marshall’s big-screen reboot of the franchise will be getting a lot of scrutiny in the coming months. Just look at the casting of David Harbour as the titular demon, for example. Fans debated at great length whether or not the Stranger Things star has what it takes to fill the Ron Perlman’s sizeable shoes, and it’s likely that those debates will continue long after Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen is released in theaters next year.
Of course, a reboot can’t concern itself too much with the legacy left behind by its predecessors, instead, what Neil Marshall and co. can do is ensure that they get the best possible talent to play the beloved characters that live within in this comicbook world. Thankfully, that certainly seems to be what the creative team behind this movie are shooting for because, according to a new report from THR, Ian McShane has just secured the role of Hellboy’s adoptive father, Professor Bloom.
Like Harbour, McShane has a tough act to follow in bringing this character back to the big-screen. In both Hellboy and Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, Professor Bloom was played by the late, great John Hurt, who put in strong performances as the man responsible for nurturing Hellboy and his abilities. But, in McShane, Neil Marshall has found an incredibly skilled and thoroughly popular actor, so much so that I find it hard to believe that any Hellboy fan will be complaining about this particular casting.
McShane was most recently seen in the excellent American Gods on Starz, but the British actor has many more credits in his illustrious career, including the likes of John Wick, Game of Thrones, and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.
Image: Dark Horse Comics
