It isn’t often that filmmakers use their fans to see what movie they’ll make next, or to figure out what lengths they’ll go in order to get a specific project off the ground. For the most part, that sort of wheeling and dealing is done behind closed doors, only to be breathlessly reported on as soon as the news is made public. But in order for certain projects to get off the ground, they require a fan base to become as vocal about their intentions of buying a ticket (and/or Blu-ray) as possible, should their dreams be made into a reality. This approach seemed to work pretty well recently with regard to Deadpool, so it’s no surprise that another comic book property has also encouraged its fans to have their voices heard.

This time around, it’s the long-gestating Hellboy 3, which has been on director Guillermo del Toro’s to-do list since Hellboy 2: The Golden Army hit theaters in 2008. Now, nearly nine years later, the filmmaker and star Ron Perlman are routinely tasked with answering questions regarding the fate of the film, and whether or not the Hellboy franchise will turn into a trilogy, or if its cinematic lifespan ended with the second outing. Both del Toro and Perlman have voiced a desire to create a third adventure built around the stone-fisted member of the B.P.R.D., but for whatever reason, the film has yet to come to fruition. It’s been so long now that even Perlman has taken to saying, “We don’t talk about that anymore.”

Perlman’s words likely don’t inspire much hope amongst hardcore Hellboy fans, but it may not be time for them to turn in their B.P.R.D. badges just yet. Earlier today, del Toro took to Twitter to conduct an informal poll, measuring fan interest in the third film. After a while, del Toro addressed the issue again, telling his followers that if the poll hits 100k votes, he and Perlman would “break bread” with creator Mike Mignola and “talk one more time.” Check out (and vote in) the tweet below:

Informal poll (let’s see how many votes we get in 24 hours)Hellboy III— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) January 18, 2017

The HELLBOY III is our chance to vote the right way in 2017! If 100k votes come in 24 hours I promise to have a sit down w Da Perl & Mignola— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) January 18, 2017

Though neither Hellboy films set the box office on fire, they were modest hits, and, as evidenced by the twitter poll, capable of producing a passionate fan base. While there are still a few hours left before the poll ends it will be interesting to see whether or not the prospect of a Hellboy 3 is capable of garnering 100k responses, or if Twitter will inadvertently prove to be the unofficial nail in the coffin for the series. With roughly 14 hours left to go on the poll (at the time of this writing), Big Red still needs about 30k votes before del Toro is making dinner reservations for three.

For his part, del Toro seems to be taking the difficulties in finishing off a Hellboy trilogy in stride. This recent turn to Twitter suggests he’s still interested in seeing the character get one more shot on the big screen. It’s by no means a sure thing, but at least there’s still some interest.

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Screen Rant will have more details for you on Hellboy 3 as news is made available.

Source: Guillermo del Toro