Hellboy: The Crooked Man is reportedly skipping a domestic theatrical release, with the new film now available to pre-order digitally on Amazon for a release on Tuesday, October 8 (Monday, 9 pm if you’re living in the Pacific Time Zone.)
Directed by Brian Taylor, and written by Hellboy co-creator Mike Mignola with Christopher Golden, Hellboy: The Crooked Man marked the second reboot of the film series. Based on the 2008 miniseries of the same name by Mignola and Richard Corben, it follows a younger Hellboy (Jack Kesy) in the 1950s, as he investigates disturbing going ons in rural Appalachia. The decision marks an ignoble fate for the film, which was intended to be a more atmospheric, horror-focused reset of the series after the critically and financially disastrous take with David Harbour in 2019.
Shot in early 2023, the film was acquired for distribution by Ketchup Entertainment in September of last year. The first trailer, released in July, was widely panned by viewers for looking low-budget and poorly color-graded, and tellingly in retrospect, did not disclose a more specific release date than a 2024 window. Theatrical releases were eventually announced for other countries, including the UK and Ireland (where the movie will bow tomorrow, September 27) and Australia (October 10), but none were disclosed for the States – until now.
It should be noted The Crooked Man is not the first Hellboy film to go direct to video: that dubious honor goes to the two Hellboy Animated films released from 2006 to 2007, Sword of Storms and Blood and Iron, which were produced by Guillermo del Toro, and featured Ron Perlman reprising the title role. Regardless, it’s clear we’re well past the halcyon days of the del Toro and Perlman films, and likely that any future live-action versions of Hellboy (assuming they’ll still happen) will be intended for the small screen from the start.
