The 2019 Hellboy adaptation wasn't received well. Even David Harbour, who starred as the titular character, has admitted that the film was not one of the better decisions in his career. Now, he's revealed he even keeps a memento from the film to humble himself.

Hellboy is based on Mike Mignola's comic creation of the same name. Published by Dark Horse Comics for over two decades, the series is about Hellboy, a demon brought to Earth by arcane arts. Eventually, it's revealed that Hellboy is destined to destroy the world, a bitter irony compounded by Hellboy's attempts to save the world over the years. The series is a cult phenomenon, with a new Hellboy video game, Web of Wyrd, on the way.

RELATED: Hellboy: Web of Wyrd's Cel-Shading is Perfect for the Franchise

Harbour and his wife, Lily Allen, gave a tour of their home to Architectural Digest. During the tour, fans got a glimpse at the actor's personal life and saw a few knickknacks from his acting career, including an action figure of Red Guardian (Harbour's MCU character). In the closet, Harbour stopped and picked up a photo of himself as Hellboy, which he said kept him grounded. "Just whenever I'm feeling particularly good about myself. I like to always remember where I came from."

It's not the only time he's acknowledged that Hellboy was a misstep. Harbour revealed he called Ryan Reynolds for advice when Hellboy was released because the Deadpool actor had experienced his own box office and critical disappointment: Green Lantern. Recalling that he had initially been 'optimistic' about the character, he later realized fans were protective of the character. Despite this, Harbour stated that Reynolds was 'sweet' and gave him advice.

Fans have been clamouring for more Hellboy movies since the conclusion of Guillermo del Toro's take on the franchise. Even Ron Pearlman believes fans are owed Hellboy 3, though he said he's not eager to make it. Unfortunately, the amount of time that's elapsed since Hellboy II: The Golden Army - 15 years - makes it less likely that del Toro will return to the franchise.

Ironically, while del Toro's Hellboy movies featured significant departures from the source material (including a romance between Hellboy and Selma Blair's Liz Sherman), the new adaptation attempted to be more faithful. The issue with its approach is that the film decided to adapt the end of Hellboy's run as a new take on the character, but these runs are so emotional and powerful because of years of build-up. Hellboy only finds out his destiny as "Anung un Rama" after several years of adventures, and the unravelling of the world is a long-haul storyline that needs time to build up. Perhaps someday, a new Hellboy adaptation can give it another shot.

Hellboy (2019) is available on HBO Max.

MORE: Hellboy: Web of Wyrd Already Stands Out Among a Superhero Crowd

Source: Architectural Digest/YouTube