This year, Hellboy and Hellboy II: The Golden Army director Guillermo del Toro killed any hopes of releasing Hellboy 3. The director said in a tweet “Must report that 100% the sequel will not happen. And that is to be the final thing about it.” It was unfortunate news for fans who were hoping that a third movie would be released to close out the trilogy. However, there is still some good news for fans who are holding out on a new film about their favorite cigar-chomping red demon.

That’s because a reboot is reportedly in the works, with Stranger Things star David Harbour in talks to play Big Red. Check out more on the story below.

The Hollywood Reporter says Millennium is in negotiations with producers Larry Gordon and Lloyd Levin for a new installment. They also confirm that del Toro and Ron Perlman, who played Hellboy in the first two films, are out of the picture. Dark Horse will also produce. If talks are successful, Millennium would be the third company to produce a Hellboy film in as many releases.

Though the first two had the same cast and production team, Hellboy was made by Revolution Studios and released by Sony. The film grossed $99 million on a $66 million budget. Hellboy II was made and released by Universal Studios. It grossed $160 million against an $85 million budget. But before del Toro confirmed that there would be no Hellboy 3, the director was viewing his options.

Neil Marshall, who made his directorial debut with The Descent, and has been making a name for himself directing a handful of Game of Thrones episodes, is in talks to direct.

Andrew Cosby, Christopher Golden, and “Hellboy” creator Mike Mignola will pen the script. The film will be working under the title of Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen. No word yet on if that will be the official title.

It’s not as though del Toro’s films didn’t have a cult following. But they never produced the kind of box office numbers that were needed to give producers or studios the confidence to follow through with a third. Del Toro never revealed why the franchise ended without a third installment, but THR says that the budget was a “stumbling block.” According to them, he wanted to work on a bigger canvas, and studios weren’t willing to comply. So producers decided that a reboot would be a better option.

For those who may not be familiar with who Hellboy is, the title character is a fully grown demon known for large right hand made of stone and red demon-like skin. As an agent of United States Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (BPRD), Hellboy, along with Abe Sapien and Liz Sherman, would combat against dark forces such as Russian mystics and Nazis who are hellbent on ruling the world.

[Source: The Hollywood Reporter]