Pending some final negotiations between actress and studio, American Honey breakout Sasha Lane has come into contention to bear witness to Lionsgate and Millennium’s Rise of the Blood Queen.
Word comes to us by way of The Hollywood Reporter, revealing that Lane has entered talks to play Alice Monaghan, a character who ought to be familiar to those fans of the Hellboy comics, in Neil Marshall’s adult-oriented reboot. Should a deal place, the up-and-coming star would join David Harbour (Stranger Things), Milla Jovovich (Resident Evil) and Ian McShane (American Gods) for the 2018 fantasy flick, which is said to be much more horror oriented – potentially opening up the field for that long-rumored R rating – than Guillermo del Toro’s beloved duo of movies.
And with filming on Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen due to commence next month – ditto for Venom, another high-profile comic book reboot in the works – it shouldn’t be much longer before we hear official confirmation of Sasha Lane’s casting. Or, in the worst-case scenario, if the actress decides to pass up the project altogether.
Story-wise, it’s been confirmed that the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense will factor into Rise of the Blood Queen, presumably to lay the groundwork for a potential sequel – heck, there’s even been talk of a shared universe being born from Neil Marshall’s hotly-anticipated redo. This, coupled with the alleged slew of supporting characters has us very excited for the future of Hellboy.
Because after years spent trying to launch a third film, Guillermo del Toro and Ron Perlman have officially walked away from the fantasy franchise. But their departure is bittersweet, as it leaves the door open for new blood to take Mike Mignola’s cigar-chomping demon in a whole new direction.
Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen will enter production sometime next month – with or without Sasha Lane in tow. That said, we’ll be bringing you all the latest casting developments as Marshall’s reboot prepares to step in front of the cameras.