Hellboy reboot: Stranger Things' David Harbour to take over from Ron Perlman in R-rated movie

Hellboy enthusiasts across the world had long hoped that director Guillermo del Toro would eventually make a third movie to follow on from the character's first silver screen outing back in 2004 and its sequel four years later. Unfortunately, those hopes seem to have been crushed, now that a reboot has been announced and neither del Toro nor Ron Perlman – who previously brought the eponymous anti-hero to life – are involved.

It's not all bad news though! The announcement of the new outing was revealed by creator of the original comics, Mike Mignola, earlier today (9 May), when he took to his Facebook page to write: "Okay here's some news -- there IS going to be another HELLBOY MOVIE". He went on to reveal that not only would the movie be R-rated, it is set to be directed by horror veteran Neil Marshall and will star Stranger Things actor David Harbour as Hellboy. Not too shabby after all, eh...

Despite not making huge profits at the box-office, with Hellboy grossing $99m (£76.5m) and sequel Hellboy II: The Golden Army earning $160.4m total, the films went on to become cult fan-favourites within the fantasy genre.

Marshall is best known for directing films such as Dog Soldiers and The Descent, so it's no surprise that he wants to use his experience in that genre to create a more adult-orientated outlook.

"I can't really talk about specifics with regard to the story, which they're keeping a pretty tight lid on at the moment, but I can say that this is a darker, more gruesome version of Hellboy," screenwriter Andrew Cosby recently told Silver Screen Beat of Marshall's vision. "Neil said from the very beginning that he wanted to walk a razor's edge between horror and comic-book movie, which was music to my ears, because that's what I was shooting for in the script, and precisely what Mignola does so well with the comics."