Hellboy Reboot Adds Ian McShane As Professor Broom

Lionsgate and Millennium were going to be rebooting the franchise on the big screen in a new collaboration with Hellboy creator, Mike Mignola.

Much to the initial chagrin of del Toro fans everywhere, it was originally announced that begin filming later this Fall, it looks as though progress on the film is only going to continue speeding up over the next few weeks.

THR is reporting today that Ian McShane has officially been cast alongside Harbour in the Hellboy reboot, making him the second actor to sign onto the film. The critically acclaimed actor will reportedly be playing Professor Broom, the adoptive father of Harbour's titular, demonic hero, a role originally played by the late-great John Hurt in del Toro's two previous Hellboy films. In addition, the report states that the new film will find Harbour's Hellboy facing off against a medieval sorceress who seeks to destroy humankind. While there is no word yet on who may be playing the lead female antagonist, it has been confirmed that filming will begin in September in the UK and Bulgaria.

The news of the Hellboy reboot was initially met with mixed reactions from fans, between those who were excited by the opportunities the reboot presented, and those who still felt attached to seeing del Toro's vision for the character being seen through to the end. But over the past few weeks, with Harbour and Ron Perlman even meeting up to discuss the character, the Hellboy fandom has grown increasingly more excited about Rise of the Blood Queen, and this casting of McShane as Broom should only continue that pattern.

Not only is McShane an incredibly talented and qualified actor in his own right, but he has the perfect kind of sardonic humor, intensity, and presence for this world, as anyone who's seen his work in American Gods, Deadwood, or even the episodes of HBO's Game of Thrones - it's hard to deny just how well this Hellboy reboot is shaping up so far.