Yesterday, Marvel fans were treated to their very first look at the upcoming Hulu original series, Helstrom. The ten episode horror series is an adaptation of the Son Of Satan Marvel comics, and is the final offering of the pre-Disney+ era of Marvel Cinematic Universe television.
Helstrom is produced by Paul Zbyszewski, Karim Zreik, Jeph Loeb and Kevin Feige. The series stars Tom Austen as Daimon Helstrom, Sydney Lemmon as Ana Helstrom, Elizabeth Marvel as Victoria Helstrom, Robert Wisdom as Caretaker, June Carryl as Dr. Louise Hastings, Ariana Guerra as Gabriella Rosetti, and Alain Uy as Chris Yen. Click here to read the official character breakdowns.
Outside of a vague synopsis, six images, and the character breakdowns, very little was known about this series before the Helstrom Comic-Con@Home panel, which was hosted by IGN’s editorial manager, Laura Prudom. The 40-minute panel revealed the first teaser for the show, as well as a surprising amount of information about the series.
Helstrom‘s Official Comic Con 2020 Panel
The panel opened with comments about George Floyd, Black Lives Matter, and the importance of voting and wearing a mask. Paul Zbyszewski, June Carryl, Robert Wisdom, and Ariana Guerra delivered some truly powerful and moving statements. Please take thirteen minutes out of your day to listen to their words, and to ponder on this extremely important message and call to action.
“We’re supposed to be doing a show that’s a horror story, but it’s not real horror. Real horror is eight minutes and 46 seconds. Real horror is what happened to George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, Ahmaud Arbery, and the violence that keeps happening continually, on a daily basis, to Black people, and to people of color in general in this country. We all remember that there are still kids in cages down at the border as well. And so it’s important that we demand action, and we demand change, and that we not be complacent, and that we not be silent, which is why I’m speaking today.”
– Paul Zbyszewski.
Following this discussion, the first official teaser debuted for fans, but for the cast as well.
Helstrom Official Teaser Trailer
The chilling trailer opens with Daimon and Ana visiting their institutionalized mother in a hospital. Their reunion is tense, uncomfortable, and foreboding. Ana tells Victoria “I know you set something loose on this world. What was it?” to which the seemingly possessed matriarch of the Helstrom family replied, “I think you know. No stone left unturned,” before cackling maniacally.
Daimon and Ana’s “mysterious and powerful serial killer” of a father then appears briefly, hands caked in blood, standing over a corpse. In the source material, their father is Lucifer himself, although he usually goes by the name of Marduk Kurios.
I think it’s safe to assume that their father is much more than a human serial killer, although I can’t say I expect the series to retain the ties to Christian theology. If the Patriarch of the Helstrom family is not Marduk Kurios in this series, it’s quite possible that he will be an adaptation of Mephisto, who we can assume exists in the MCU due to the existence of Zarathos/Ghost Rider.
Afterwards, a quick burst of various shots show a hand breaking out of the ground (possibly teasing the use necromancy), a spider-like creature encircling Daimon, a brief look at Robert Wisdom’s Caretaker, and a young Daimon chasing after Ana as she leaves in the back of a car. The trailer then revealed the series premiere date of October 16th.
The trailer makes it very clear that this is truly an “Adventure Into Fear.” Helstrom was originally planned to be the first in the “Adventure Into Fear” collection of Marvel TV horror, a collection that included a Gabriel Luna starring Ghost Rider series. The other series were cancelled amidst the Marvel Television and Marvel Studios merger, and while no official cancellation has been announced, most assume that the series will only last one season.
Jeremy Conrad of MCUCosmic claims that the series has already been cancelled, although he cites no source for this news. He also claimed that Kevin Feige had no involvement with the series, and that the series was not produced by Marvel Studios. (In reality, it started production under Marvel Television, but was completed after the merger under Marvel Studios.) Both of which are inaccurate, so take his report with a large grain of salt.
