Ron Perlman Will Only Return as Hellboy Under One Condition

Fans of Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy movies have long hoped for a third installment to complete the trilogy. While multiple attempts to reboot the franchise have fallen short, Ron Perlman—who played the cigar-smoking demon in the 2004 and 2008 films—remains open to reprising the role, but only if del Toro is involved.

Perlman: "That’s His Franchise"

In a recent interview with That Hashtag Show, Perlman made it clear that he won’t return to Hellboy for just anyone. "For Guillermo, I would," he said. "I had an opportunity to play [Hellboy] again for other people and I passed. That’s his franchise as far as I’m concerned."

Despite his enthusiasm, a Hellboy 3 seems unlikely. The project has been stuck in limbo for years due to rights issues and creative disagreements. Del Toro himself has tried to revive the film but has never reached an agreement with the studios.

A Franchise Struggling to Find Its Footing

Since Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008), the franchise has struggled to maintain its magic. Neil Marshall’s 2019 reboot, starring David Harbour, was poorly received, with even the director admitting that the film "sucked." Now, Hellboy: The Crooked Man (2024) attempts to capture the folk-horror tone of the comics, but its low budget and weak CGI have left fans divided.

Meanwhile, Hellboy creator Mike Mignola has accepted that del Toro has moved on to bigger projects, such as his Oscar-winning The Shape of Water and Pinocchio. In a 2024 interview with Screen Rant, Mignola reflected on their working relationship:

"It’s a very strange feeling [where] you just go, ‘I thought we were friends for life, but I’ll never actually see you again.’ He’s just on another planet."

Will Hellboy 3 Ever Happen?

Hollywood is full of surprises, but for now, a Hellboy trilogy under del Toro seems like a distant dream. With the director currently working on his adaptation of Frankenstein, and no studio backing a new Hellboy film, fans may have to accept that Perlman’s Big Red has hung up his horns for good.

Still, as any comic book fan knows—never say never.