Just when we started to get our hopes up again…

It was only last month that Guillermo del Toro got fans tentatively excited when he revealed that he would be meeting with creator Mike Mignola and star Ron Perlman to discuss finally making Hellboy III. Well now the director has moved to completely rule out a third film in this fan favourite franchise.

Taking to his Twitter page, del Toro said, “Spoke w/ all parties. Must report that 100% the sequel will not happen. And that is to be the final things about it.”

And then the internet let out a solitary, joint tear.

Hellboy was always envisioned as a movie trilogy by all involved in the franchise, but it now seems we can finally (sadly!) put to rest the idea of a third film in the series. Del Toro himself had previously discussed how Hellboy III would see the titular Hellboy embracing his inevitable destiny as the beast of the Apocalypse in order to defend humanity. In the process, Red would become a far darker character.

So, it looks as if that really is that when it comes to the cinematic Hellboy series, which is a huge shame but not a total shock considering how long the film has been maybe/maybe not happening. The first Hellboy was released in 2004, with Hellboy II: The Golden Army then arriving in 2008. Both films took home okay box offices, but it just seems that the planned third outing for Perlman’s Red isn’t meant to be.

Of course, if anything changes on this front, we’ll be sure to let you know.