Hellboy Reboot Director Denies AI Was Used in The Crooked Man

Andre Joseph
·2 min read
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Hellboy: The Crooked Man director Brian Taylor sets the record straight about claims of AI being used in the upcoming reboot.

On Twitter, Taylor addressed comments made by Millennium Films president Jonathan Yunger who told an audience at the Berlin International Film Festival that the director used AI on Hellboy “to make 3000 creature designs in an hour.” Now Taylor reveals that Yunger completely misquoted him.

“To be clear: there is exactly *ZERO* AI used on Hellboy: the crooked man. Both characters – Hellboy and the Crooked Man – were created and shot 100% gloriously practical, as the movie gods intended, with no CGI enhancement… and look AMAZING,” Taylor said.

Taylor’s comments come at a time when the use of AI as an enhancement tool for Hollywood productions is a hot-button topic. Last year’s Secret Invasion series drew controversy for using AI for its title sequence, and Marvel Studios pushed back by stating “no artists’ jobs were replaced by incorporating these new tools.” Additionally, the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes were partially the result of fears for actors and writers being replaced in the future. Taylor assures his take on Hellboy will remain in the physical tradition of the previous movie adaptations by Guillermo del Toro and Neil Marshall.

What is Hellboy: The Crooked Man about?

Based on the Dark Horse Comics character created by Mike Mignola, the official synopsis for Hellboy: The Crooked Man reads: “In the 1950s, Hellboy and a rookie BPRD agent, stranded in rural Appalachia, discover a small community haunted by witches, led by a local devil with a troubling connection to Hellboy’s past: the Crooked Man.”

Directed by Taylor, Hellboy: The Crooked Man stars Jack Kesy, Jefferson White, Adeline Rudolph, Joseph Marcell, and Leah McNamara. Producers include Dark Horse Entertainment’s Mike Richardson and Millennium Media’s Jeffrey Greenstein, Jonathan Yunger, Les Weldon, Rob Van Norden, and Yariv Lerner. Mike Mignola, Millennium Media’s Avi Lerner, Trevor Short, Boaz Davidson, and Tanner Mobley, and Campbell Grobman Films’ Lati Grobman and Christa Campbell are the executive producers. Sam Schulte will co-produce on behalf of Millennium Media.

Hellboy: The Crooked Man does not have an official release date.