Who Is The Blood Queen In The New 'Hellboy: Rise Of The Blood Queen' Reboot?

Over the past few weeks, interest in the Hellboy reboot has been piqued, partially due to the franchise's new star David Harbour sharing an image of himself having his arm cast for Hellboy's Right Hand Of Doom. Harbour also posted an image of himself sitting with former Hellboy actor, Ron Perlman, who's given his blessing to Harbour taking over for him as the titular character, adding even more fire to the flames building around Hellboy.

Moreover, spotlight on the Hellboy reboot also has fans asking questions about other aspects of the new movie—some of which we have no information about. The working title of the movie being Rise Of The Blood Queen is probably the most intriguing, since we can expect our hero, Hellboy, to prevent the Blood Queen from being resurrected. To back up that claim, the Blood Queen's origins in the Hellboy: The Wild Hunt graphic novels tell a similar story.

Graphic Novel Adaptation Of The Blood Queen

In the graphic novel, she goes by the moniker of Queen of Blood instead of the Blood Queen, which draws into question whether the character is one and the same. But it's such a minor change that we can assume this is the case. If so, the Blood Queen's origins likely reveal potential plot details about the reboot.

The aforementioned character arc involving the Blood Queen takes place during The Wild Hunt novels, wherein she's depicted as a dead witch named Nimue. She was originally a confidant of the sorcerer Merlin, but went mad after Merlin was trapped in a grave for eternity. Nimue then went on to become a witch who her comrades deemed too mad even for their coven, finally beaten and killed by the rivaling witches, who sealed Nimue in a box—until a fairy creature known as Grugach resurrected her using a a bottle of Cirborium blood, given to him by Astaroth. The blood not only revived Nimue, however, it transformed her into the Queen of Blood.

Upon her awakening, Nimue set out to exact revenge on the witches who killed her, raising an army with the intention of using it against the world before she was stopped by Hellboy.

What Can The Graphic Novel Tell Us About The Upcoming Reboot?

When it comes to movie making, changes to the overall plot happen all the time; we shouldn't rule out the possibility of a completely different origin being crafted for the Blood Queen. But it seems much more reasonable for the reboot to take inspiration from the graphic novels, since they're filled with fan-favorite stories people want to see depicted on the big screen.

The reboot possessing a darker, grittier plot would be more similar in tone to the Hellboy graphic novels than what we got with Guillermo del Toro's adaptations (as great as they were). Most of the stories told are draped in a dreary background, filled with death, underhanded dealings, and all sorts of debauchery. If that is the case with Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen, then we should count on the Blood Queen showing up with her accomplices, Grugach and Astaroth, both of whom play integral roles in the novels.

In addition to the Blood Queen's rise, she also goes to war with Hellboy after he uses the Excalibur sword to resurrect an army of British knights. That would definitely be entertaining to see play out on screen should we get to that point. We can also assume Hellboy will have some connection to King Arthur and Merlin, since he came into possession of the Excalibur sword during The Wild Hunt novels. With that known, a quest for Excalibur could likely be a subplot in the reboot.

Whatever the case may be, the reboot has a lot to live up to. Since it'll be compared to del Toro's version of Hellboy and Ron Perlman's excellent performance in the original, the upcoming reboot needs to distinguish itself from the previous installments. Crafting a unique yet loyal adaptation of the graphic novel is a perfect way to accomplish that feat.

Do you think they'll adapt The Wild Hunt novels for the reboot? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.