A new image published by Entertainment Weekly provides our best look yet at the new Pinhead in Hulu's Hellraiser reboot. Coming to the streaming platform this fall, the new film brings the franchise back to its roots with creator Clive Barker back on board as a consultant and producer. The film also presents a new Hell Priest, aka Pinhead, that's more accurate to how the character is described in Barker's original novella. Previously portrayed by Doug Bradley, the role is now played by Jamie Clayton in the reboot.
Clayton, a trans actress, puts a new spin on how Pinhead has been portrayed in the past. After Bradley's lengthy run in the role, subsequent films were made featuring Stephan Smith Collins and Paul T. Taylor as different versions of Pinhead. Clayton marks the first female performer to take on the role, and director David Bruckner spoke about her casting in the EW article, stressing how she landed the part with a killer audition.
"We felt a kind of anticipation around the fans to reimagine the character. We knew we wanted Pinhead to be a woman. Jamie was just the right person for the role. A person's identity can be really exciting for a role in many ways, but I have to emphasize that Jamie absolutely killed, that's how we got there."
Bruckner went on to tease that Clayton will bring something new to the table with her unique portrayal of Pinhead as the filmmakers knew better than to try to replicate the fan favorite performance delivered by Doug Bradley in the previous movies.
"What Doug Bradley did with the character is so iconic. We didn't want to do a Doug Bradley impression, we just didn't think that's possible to do. There will be suffering, but you're going to get a sense of what Pinhead's desires might be in a way that hits a little different."
You can take a look at the full-size, unedited photo of Jamie Clayton's Pinhead below. Previously, a teaser was released that featured a blurred and obscured image of Pinhead, but this new photo is definitely our best look yet.
Hulu's Hellraiser Is "Not a Remake"
Director David Bruckner told EW that the film is not a "remake," suggesting it won't be a retread of the same story viewers saw in the original Hellraiser movie. Bruckner says that the Hulu film will be telling a "new story" in Clive Barker's world, introducing new characters with the story focusing primarily on Riley, a young woman played by Odessa A'zion. Bruckner says of the plot:
"This is not a remake. I just didn't think you could ever remake the original Hellraiser. It's too much its own thing and it would be, I think, perilous territory for filmmakers, because how do you top that? This is a new story in the Hellraiser universe. It's the tale of a young woman, who's struggling with addiction and compulsive behavior, that comes in contact accidentally with the box and unfortunately begins to dabble with it," says Bruckner. "And chaos ensues."
The new Hellraiser will be released on Hulu on Oct. 7, 2022.