The Crooked Man Is Most Accurate Adaptation Yet

Hellboy: The Crooked Man just got a glowing endorsement from franchise creator Mike Mignola. The artist and writer, who has a co-writing credit on the new movie, specifically praised the film’s faithfulness.

While speaking with ScreenRant at San Diego Comic-Con, Mignola praised Hellboy: The Crooked Man‘s commitment to the source material. In fact, Mignola revealed that several moments in the film are pulled directly from the comics. He singled out a small, private moment in a church as an element he thought would be cut out, but was instead respected by the filmmakers through its inclusion:

[My favorite thing was] to see how close it is to the comics. There are several shots in there that are panels from the comics and your fear is always, especially when you say it’s gotta be my favorite story, that it’s going to lose something. But all my favorite moments from the comic are in there. I mean, you’re holding your breath as you’re watching this. I actually got to watch, I didn’t go on set, but I saw dailies, and you’re just going, “I can’t believe this! Oh my God, you got it in there and is it going to stay in there when they cut the movie?”

Because there is a particular moment in the church that I loved so much. I thought, “Are they going to add special effects to that?” It’s just a quiet little moment. It could easily get cut, but it stayed all the way through. Not that I didn’t like the other movies or love bits and pieces from the other movies, but it was just… I was so grateful to see somebody that really did want to put [them in there], because at some point everybody says, “Oh yeah, we’re going to put your comic on screen.” But this is the time that it happened.

Mignola previously worked with Guillermo del Toro to bring the character to life in 2004’s Hellboy and 2008’s Hellboy: The Golden Army. Notably, Mignola was not involved in 2019’s Hellboy reboot, which was directed by Neil Marshall. While del Toro’s effort has been praised and lauded, it isn’t the most accurate take on the source material.

Previous Hellboy Films Took a Lot of Creative Liberties

Although Hellboy has gotten two adaptations in the past, they weren’t the most faithful. Del Toro’s first two Hellboy films were successful and have their own cult followings, but they featured some notable departures from the comics. Perhaps most notably, Hellboy (played by Ron Pearlman in those films) was depicted as being in a relationship with his friend and co-worker, Liz Sherman (Selma Blair) — a relationship that eventually results in twins.

As for the 2019 film, which featured David Harbour as the title character, there were more than a few departures from the source material.

In the comics, Hellboy is prophesied to end the world (which both del Toro and Marshall’s films touch on) while leading the armies of Hell. As he tries to subvert this destiny, he faces numerous enemies intent on getting Hellboy to fulfill it, including Hecate, Rasputin, and a cosmic dragon entity known as the Ogdru Jahad.

It’s unclear whether or not Hellboy: The Crooked Man will touch on this storyline, but it does appear that the film will be a faithful adaptation of an arc from the comics, also titled “The Crooked Man.”

In that arc, set in 1950s Appalachia, Hellboy goes on a sabbatical from his job at the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, when he discovers a small town plagued by a demonic entity known as the Crooked Man. Setting out to stop the demon and save the town’s souls, Hellboy must navigate through a horde of witches and creatures to defeat the monster.