Well, we certainly didn’t see this one coming. Yes, as the title suggests, there’s going to finally be another Hellboy movie!

With Guillermo del Toro’s Ron Perlman-starring Hellboy series always envisioned as a trilogy, it looked as if we’d all finally come to grips with the grim reality that del Toro and Perlman wouldn’t get to follow up the excellent Hellboy: The Golden Army. This came after del Toro updated fans only a month or so ago, explaining how he, Perlman and Hellboy creator Mike Mignola had met to discuss a third Hellboy only to ultimately decide that it was definitely a no-go. But fear not, for another Hellboy picture is happening, just not as you may have expected it.

Creator Mingola has surprised us all by taking to his Facebook page to reveal that another Hellboy film is happening. And not only that, but del Toro and Perlman aren’t returning – instead they’ll be replaced by The Descent’s Neil Marshall in the director’s chair, and Stranger Things’ David Harbour will be taking over the horns and cigars from Perlman.

In further news, The Hollywood Reporter adds that the working title for this reboot is Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen, with a script already in place from Mignola, Andrew Cosby and Christopher Golden.

As a comic book character, Hellboy debuted back in 1993. A demon drawn from Hell by crazy Nazi types during the closing moments of World War II, he’d end up becoming a part of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense and raised by Prof. Trevor Bruttenolm. Throughout his years in action, Hellboy has battled (and usually bested!) countless eerie demons and evil doers, often with the help of the likes of Abe Sapien and Lobster Johnson.

In terms of big screen shenanigans, Hellboy was released in 2004 and took home just under $100 million worldwide as it won a whole heap of praise from many quarters. The 2008 follow-up, Hellboy: The Golden Army, topped that by taking $160 million from a budget of $85 million. And since that 2008 picture, fans and critics alike have been hoping to finally see the third leg of del Toro and Perlman’s trilogy. As it stands, that now won’t be happening, which is hugely disappointing to hear but, if we’re honest, it’s something we’ve all been expecting. That said, Marshall has proven his salt over the years with efforts such as Dog Soldiers, The Descent, Doomsday and more recently with his work in TV on the likes of Constantine and Westworld. As for Harbour, he’s seen his star rise thanks to his excellent turn in the first season of Netflix’s Stranger Things. It may not be del Toro, it may not be Perlman, but there’s certainly enough talent involved here to make this new take on a beloved hero work.

As ever, expect more on this as and when we get it.