Despite remaining the best-reviewed installment in the franchise, Mike Mignola remembers the frustrations he once had. Hellboy II: The Golden Army. The 2008 sequel to Guillermo del Toro's comic book adaptation saw Ron Perlman return as the titular hero as he explores a mythical prince's quest to retrieve a series of ancient artifacts that could lead to war between the magical world and humanity. Featuring returns from Selma Blair, Doug Jones and Jeffrey Tambor, Hellboy II: The Golden Army was a hit with critics and a modest box office success.
During a recent interview Screen Rant for an upcoming documentary Mike Mignola: Drawing MonstersMignola reflected on his experience with del Toro in both Hellboy movies. While thinking Golden Armycomic creator candidly recalled some of his frustrations with the sequelthat is, the three months he collaborated with del Toro”it didn't really affect” generally continued:
I like to be left alone to create work that I can control. The experience I had with the second film… I worked on that film for three months and it didn't affect this film at all. I came out of it and was really disappointed with the second movie. This is my own problem. I don't have a good perspective on the film. I just had issues with the movie, and I remember coming out of it thinking, “Man, if I had spent those three months in my studio in pre-production, I would have made a couple of comics. It would be exactly what I wanted them to be.”
Mignola went on to explain that he had a good time working on the first one Hellboy movie with del Toro, as is “all new“to him in figuring out how to translate his material for the screen. However, he would conclude that his and del Toro's “had a relationship“Despite these issues:
I had no problem with the first movie because it was exciting and adventurous and everything was new. Figuring out how to make a Hellboy movie – that was all the fun. The second film was a very different experience. I made peace with him, but for a while I resented the time I spent there. But our relationship survived, which is wonderful.
How Hellboy II: The Golden Army Compares to the Rest of the Franchise
It remains the Best Performing Installment
At first glance, Hellboy II: The Golden ArmyThe 2008 film looks to be a real hit for del Toro and co, nearly doubling its box office budget. That said, del Toro has mentioned it in the past both of them Hellboy in movies only “small profit margin” from their theater performances Before going on to greater success on DVD. This has generally been chalked up as del Toro's biggest obstacle Hellboy 3studios don't want to spend more than $100 million to make a sequel.
still, Hellboy II: The Golden Army remains the most successful installment of the entire franchise. Del Toro's first film was a modest enough success to warrant a 2008 sequel, despite David Harbour's 2019 film. Hellboy the reboot was widely panned by critics and was considered a box office bomb, grossing only $55.1 million against a production budget of $50 million, resulting in the development of a second reboot. Check out the top three Hellboy Compare movies on Rotten Tomatoes and at the box office below:
|
Title |
RT Critics Account |
RT Audience Account |
Cash register |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Hellboy (2004) |
81% |
66% |
$99.8 million |
|
Hellboy II: The Golden Army |
86% |
71% |
$168.3 million |
|
Hellboy (2019) |
17% |
47% |
$55.1 million |
The creator will likely be more closely involved in all future adaptations
Although Mignola also stated that he prefers to be in the world of comics, his previous disappointment Golden Army and the failure of the 2019 reboot points to this Mignola is more closely involved creatively with the whole future Hellboy adaptations. With its upcoming release Hellboy: Crooked ManMignola actually wrote the screenplay with frequent collaborator Christopher Golden and director Brian Taylor, bringing a more gruesome approach to the film franchise.
Mignola even promised Screen Rant that Crooked Man is the most faithful adaptation of his comics to dateexpressed his gratitude for translating some panels of the comic of the same name directly to the screen. While the future of the franchise after the upcoming reboot depends on how the film performs, it will be interesting to see his experience. Hellboy II: The Golden Armyboth good and bad, it affects both Crooked Man and future incarnations of the character.