Hellboy: The Crooked Man's trailer finally dropped this week and some fans are already expressing their disappointment. The trailer seems to have drawn the ire of many movie-goers and fans alike -- with many people taking to comment sections to claim it looks cheap, or like a "fan film." However, one could argue that this may be the exact gut punch the franchise needs -- as it doesn't necessarily look "bad" so much as it simply looks different from the previous three effects-laden, Hollywood-budgeted Hellboy films.

While audiences who are only familiar with the Hellboy film franchise may find the Hellboy: The Crooked Man trailer off-putting, longtime fans of the comic series are likely to find a lot to like about the new film's first preview. The film is very blatantly made on a smaller budget -- which isn't an inherently bad thing, as some would acknowledge that the majority of Hellboy's greatest comic book adventures were small, self-contained stories. Hellboy: The Crooked Man stands head and shoulders above most -- and has become one of the most beloved stories in the entire series. In many ways, The Crooked Man is the perfect story to adapt for a Hellboy reboot that aims to be a faithful adaptation of the comic series as opposed to a giant action movie.

The Crooked Man Was Always Going To Be On A Smaller Scale

It’s Not A Superhero Story Like Previous Films

Hellboy: The Crooked Man was one of many side-stories in the Hellboy comic universe, providing a self-contained horror story that just so happened to star Hellboy as the primary protagonist. While there are certainly grandiose fantasy elements found within the story -- some that admittedly may be difficult for a low-budget film to truly capture -- it was never a “Hellboy saves the world” adventure at its core, like the previous three films. Therefore, Hellboy: The Crooked Man never needed a huge budget or the large scale of the other films, and movie-goers judging the new trailer for a lack of similar elements may be missing what the filmmakers are attempting to accomplish. Director Brian Taylor recently confirmed that the effects in the film are 100% practical. While that may raise a few worrisome eyebrows in of itself -- CGI can be a helpful tool to enhance shots and creatures -- it's clear that the film isn't supposed to be a huge spectacle, visually. For a story like Hellboy: The Crooked Man, this shouldn't be that big of an issue.

As beloved as the Guillermo del Toro films may be, for many fans of the comic series, Hellboy: The Crooked Man is the exact type of story they had been yearning for. While the main comic series delivers an adventure of epic proportions in its primary story, the side stories tend to be most fondly remembered by fans. Hellboy was always an outlet for Lovecraftian horror, and it was always great to see the character get side-tracked from his main destiny to go on smaller adventures and tackle self-contained mysteries -- sometimes literally. For fans of Hellboy comics, The Crooked Man should scratch a certain itch created by the pages of Mike Mignola's iconic comics -- even without the incredible Hollywood effects or grand scope featured in past Hellboy movies.

It’s An Indie Movie — Not A Hollywood Blockbuster

And Hellboy 2019 Is Probably Why

Feature-length Hellboy films:

• Hellboy (2004)
• Hellboy: Sword of Storms (2006)
• Hellboy: Blood and Iron (2007)
• Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)
• Hellboy (2019)
• Hellboy: The Crooked Man (2024)

Production company Millennium Media and distributor Ketchup Entertainment specialize in producing and releasing independent films, of which Hellboy: The Crooked Man is one. Though Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy films were labors of love and well-received by general audiences, the decision to halt his planned trilogy and reboot the series in 2019 is most likely a major factor in Hellboy: The Crooked Man’s noticeably smaller budget. The backlash felt by fans at the lack of del Toro getting his opportunity to finish his Hellboy series is the lingering dark cloud following the character around -- and that simply isn't fair to the character, its creator, or the artists helping adapt the stories to the screen.

A lack of Guillermo del Toro mixed with a dour tone and an amalgamation of far too many comic arcs mashed into one single narrative led to the 2019 Hellboy film failing to hit the mark. While nobody has come out and admitted this, the issues surrounding the 2019 Hellboy film are likely the reason a new Hellboy movie had an issue getting the green light. After the financial failure of that movie, Hellboy: The Crooked Man may be the last hope fans of the original comic have at getting faithful live-action adaptations of their favorite half-demon paranormal investigator. This is reason enough to look past over-the-top CGI fests and give the smaller film at least the opportunity to make an impression instead of writing it off after its first trailer.

Mike Mignola Had A Strong Influence On The Crooked Man

And It Shows In Hellboy’s Design

While Mike Mignola does have a co-writer credit for Hellboy II: The Golden Army -- which may explain why that film deals heavily with folklore -- he otherwise had no story input on either 2004's Hellboy or 2019's Hellboy. However, it seems he had a much larger role in the writing of Hellboy: The Crooked Man, and that much can be seen in the trailer itself. Effects and budget aside, many of the shots in the trailer look to have been pulled directly from the pages of the three-issue miniseries. Shots of the terrifying with Effie Kolb riding her horse or the poor Cora being possessed by the Crooked Man are about as faithful to the source material as a film can get. That and, of course, the haunting silhouette of The Crooked Man watching on from the dark woods. This shot, in particular, is one of the most horrifying moments in comic book history and, in classic Lovecraftian style, leaves more up to the imagination before the next panel reveals the grotesque visage of The Crooked Man.

Many critiques were shared about the Hellboy: The Crooked Man trailer is directed squarely toward the design of Hellboy, as portrayed by Jack Kesy. Many have claimed that the appearance of the character is "too cheap" and too much of a departure from the other three Hellboy films. However, fans of the comic series most likely recognized the similarities between Kesy's Hellboy and that of the character's design from the comics. While Ron Perlman's design is iconic and worked incredibly well for Guillermo del Toro's vision, and while David Harbour's design was very impressive despite the film's flaws, neither truly does the comic book character's design justice. While still muscular, Hellboy often hides his true physique under his trench coat while slumping his shoulders -- making for a much more relatable presence. Hellboy's sawed-off horns are also much larger in the comics and look to scale in The Crooked Man as compared to the previous films. One would imagine these subtle details were Mike Mignola's decisions and make for a much more comic-accurate version of the character -- which doesn't necessarily call for the extreme designs found in Hellboy, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, or 2019's Hellboy.

At the end of the day, whether one is a fan of the Hellboy comics or just the films, people should be rallying around this smaller, more concentrated take on the character's return to film instead of honing in on the differences between it and the previous films. Circumstances forced the franchise to take this route, but the source story may just as easily benefit from the constraints the filmmakers are facing to deliver fans another Hellboy adventure. It's valid to feel apprehension towards something different when one is so used to an existing vision, but it's also important to judge art based on the finished product and not just a preview that may be purposely holding back. With Mike Mignola's classic story being adapted, this Hellboy film has every chance to be just as good as any other.

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  Hellboy (2004)

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  A demon raised from infancy after being conjured by and rescued from the Nazis, grows up to become a defender against the forces of darkness.

  Director

  Guillermo del Toro

  Release Date

  April 2, 2004

  Cast

  Ron Perlman , Doug Jones , Selma Blair

  Runtime

  2 Hours 2 Minutes

  Main Genre

  Action

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  Hellboy (2019)

  Director

  Neil Marshall

  Release Date

  April 12, 2019

  Cast

  David Harbour , Milla Jovovich , Ian McShane , Sasha Lane

  Runtime

  2 hours

  Main Genre

  Action