Ron Perlman Hints That He’ll Be In ‘Pacific Rim’
Of the many, many, many projects Guillermo Del Toro has in various states of development, the one fans tend to ask about the most is “Hellboy 3.” So no surprise that at the FilmDistrict panel this afternoon at Comic-Con, where Del Toro was talking up “Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark,” the subject once again came up and while it doesn’t look like it’s on the immediate horizon — Del Toro has “Pacific Rim” to work on — it does sound like an idea gnawing at the back of their minds.
“‘Hellboy 2‘ was tough,” Perlman said. “Both of us walked away from that a little bit, ‘Do I ever want to revisit this?’ But then with the luxury of time and looking at it in an objectified way… We were beat up at the end of it… He always looked at it as a trilogy and there were things that were unresolved. So for us to not make it would be letting down people who invested in the first two. It’s epic what he wants to do, but it would be cinematic and well worth doing.”
And Del Toro echoes the sentiments of the franchise star. “Each of those movies has been an incredible ordeal to make. The third one is the hardest one because it’s the darkest one… And if it’s not Ron, I don’t want to make it. The third one is epic, it’s gigantic.”
But, with everything Del Toro has brewing, it might be very easy for him to casually move from project to project, but as he notes with “At The Mountains Of Madness” falling apart due to its budget and his hard-R approach, he has an all or nothing attitude where his passion for the project trumps all other considerations. “It’s very easy from the outside to say, ‘Oh, he changed his mind.’ It’s not that. You work your ass off for months for something fans are never going to see,” Del Toro said, before adding, “I only do things that I truly love. If I control the property, I hold onto it for decades. I carried ‘Hellboy’ for almost 8 years. ‘Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark’ was 13 years. I’ll hold onto it for as long as I can.” So keep the flame burning, folks.
But it certainly would’ve been something special and Perlman, who was take a part in the film, reveals his character would’ve been all testosterone. “It was a great character. I was ready to do the movie once everything was under way, but it just didn’t reach that point. That’s a role that would definitely become one of my all time favorites. ‘Mountains’ deals with a lot of very scientific guys and I’m a real guy,” he said. “He does a lot of fucking but not a lot of kissing. He’s that kind of dude. I’m trying to be metaphorical here.”
So, even though they couldn’t team on ‘Mountains’ could “Pacific Rim” open that door of opportunity? Perlman smiled and said, “I’m not allowed to say anything about ‘Pacific Rim.’ I may or may not have a role in ‘Pacific Rim.’” So take that for what it’s worth.
“Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark” opens on August 26th. —reporting by Jeff Otto
