The Hellraiser movie reboot is set to arrive on Hulu, but would Doug Bradley return to the role of Cenobite Pinhead? The 1980s saw the arrival of multiple horror icons, from Freddy Krueger to Chucky. One of the most visually distinct is Pinhead from Hellraiser, who is the leader of a group of demons who emerge from a puzzle box once it's solved. Clive Barker's 1987 movie was able to shock even hardened horror fans, but despite Pinhead soon becoming the twisted face of the franchise, the filmmakers didn't realize this at first.
Pinhead and the Cenobites are in the original movie for less than ten minutes, with the true villains being Julia Cotton and her lover Frank. In fact, Pinhead is simply dubbed "Lead Cenobite" in the credits for Hellraiser. He was given an expanded role in Hellbound: Hellraiser II, but even then, the sequel originally ended setting up Julia as the Queen of Hell, and she was positioned as the lead villain. The audience love for Pinhead saw him put front and center for parts 3 and 4, while Bradley would play the Hell Priest a total of eight times.
Bradley would later pass on 2011's Hellraiser: Revelations and 2018's Judgment, with Stephan Smith Collins and Paul T. Taylor taking over the role respectively. The franchise has been heading straight to DVD since 2000, with the overall quality of the series declining rapidly in later installments. Things are looking up for the series in a major way, with both an HBO series in works that has creator Clive Barker involved, while a movie reboot is also in the works from director David Bruckner. It was recently confirmed the latter project will be heading straight to Hulu, but an important question that remains is whether Doug Bradley would return to his signature role.
It should be stated the plot for the Hellraiser movie reboot has yet to be confirmed. It's unknown how - or if - it will be connected to the original series, or whether Pinhead will even be involved. That said, it feels extremely unlikely the relaunch wouldn't include the most iconic figure in the franchise. The first choice of series devotees is obviously going to be Bradley, who - like Freddy Krueger performer Robert Englund - is considered irreplaceable in the role.
While Doug Bradley passed on the most recent sequels, this was largely down to the circumstances they were produced under. Hellraiser: Revelations was written and shot in a mad dash so Dimension could retain the rights, and in addition to disliking the screenplay, the actor was only offered a tiny salary. With Judgement, he declined to read the script after refusing to sign what he felt was a ridiculously strict NDA. On one hand, in interviews the actor seems content with having played Pinhead in eight movies and isn't itching to get back in the makeup chair for more.
On the other, he's also stated, like in this 2017 chat with Bloody Disgusting, that “I’d absolutely be open to doing it again." With the right script and creative approach, he's willing to return. If anything, an older version of Pinhead could make the character even more menacing and powerful. That said, it's been nearly 20 years since Doug Bradley last played the Hell Priest in a Hellraiser movie, and he may decide the burden of the heavy makeup and the physical requirements involved aren't for him anymore. There are a lot of actors who could do a great job as Pinhead, but like Robert Englund and Freddy, fans of the series really want to see Doug Bradley back in black (and pins).
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