New Hellraiser in Limbo?
Dimension have shelved their plans for a Hellraiser remake and pushed forward instead with plans for another sequel, subtitled Revelations. That should please the fans, right? A return for the Pinhead that they know and love?
Sure. If the film was going to have the Pinhead they know and love in it.
Doug Bradley has played the black pope of hell in all of the official Hellraiser films so far, and is a good part of what makes the character work as well as it does. Trying to make a sequel without him would be a pretty daft idea. Fortunately, the filmmakers realised this and approached the actor this week. Unfortunately, he wants none of it.
From Bradley’s statement to Dread Central:
I have been approached just in this last week… I would stress that I have had no contact from, or negotiations with, anyone from Dimension Films: rather these contacts have been by way of private discussion with individuals involved with this project.
Following these discussions, and after reading the script and giving it due consideration, I have decided not to participate. The ink is barely dry on the script, and it is scheduled to be in front of the cameras in two weeks time and in the can by the middle of next month (September 2010). The miniscule shooting schedule is more than matched by the budget.
Nobody really knows what damage Bradley has done to Dimension’s plans, and if the producers will now move forward at all but I suspect they will, with a new Pinhead in place.
As Bradley says himself “this does not seem to me to represent a serious attempt to revive the Hellraiser franchise”. I can’t help but wonder if it’s not a stop-gap production to prevent a lapsing of rights.
Lord Shaper
