When people think about superhero movies, they typically think of the Marvel Cinematic Universe or movies like Superman or Justice League. However, while the MCU is wildly popular and DC has given us some notable movies, they aren’t the only superheroes to grace the big screen. There are other, less conventional superheroes to get the feature film treatment and now, one of the best superhero movies of the 2000s that just so happens to follow one of those unexpected heroes is headed to Peacock.
Released in 2004, Hellboy is a superhero classic that isn’t about a tights-and-cape wearing hero. Based on the Dark Horse Comics character, Hellboy hit theaters as something of an unknown when it came to the hierarchy of comic book heroes, but the movie was successful and a critical hit and it changed everything — and it will hit Peacock on March 31st.
Hellboy and Its Sequel Are Great Movies (But the Reboots Leave Much to Be Desired)
Written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, the first Hellboy movie stars Ron Perlman as the titular hero. He’s joined by Selma Blair, Jeffrey Tambor, Karel Roden, Rupert Evans, and John Hurt. Inspired by the character’s debut comic, Hellboy: Seed of Destruction, the movie follows the demon turned investigator (Hellboy) as he works with the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense when a resurrected sorcerer arrives and plans to destroy the world — and use Hellboy to do so. The movie was met with critical acclaim, gaining particular praise for del Toro’s visuals and the way he elevated the comic book story. The movie also performed well at the box office which helped it get a sequel, 2008’s Hellboy II: The Golden Army.
The Golden Army was also a hit, also receiving critical praise and doing well at the box office, but while there was a planned sequel, it never came to fruition. However, in 2019, Hellboy got a reboot. The 2019 Hellboy film stars David Harbour as Hellboy along with Amilla Jovovich, Ian McShane, Sasha Lane, Daniel Dae Kim, and Thomas Haden Church. However, while the original Hellboy movies were successful, the reboot was less so. It was a box office bomb, making a mere $55 million on a budget of $50 million, and it was dragged by critics as well. For critics and audiences alike, the movie just didn’t live up to the elements that made the first two Hellboy movies beloved classics.
A second reboot, Hellboy: The Crooked Man, tried again in 2024 with another all-new cast, but it didn’t fare well, either. It was released direct-to-VOD in the United States and made a mere $2 million internationally at the box office — and while it did do better with critics than the 2019 reboot, it still was poorly received. Once again, it couldn’t live up to the creativity and spectacle of the original two films, both of which still stand as some of the best superhero movies ever made.
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