Hellraiser Hulu update: Jamie Clayton cast as female Pinhead

A Hellraiser Hulu update, the upcoming David Bruckner reboot has cast Sense8 actress Jamie Clayton as Pinhead, which is more in line with Clive Barker’s original vision. Per Deadline, the new Hellraiser, produced as a collaboration between Spyglass and Hulu, will feature Clayton as the notable horror icon.

While billed as a “reboot” this isn’t really a reboot of the original Hellraiser film but a reimagining of Barker’s iconic novella on which the franchise is based The Hellbound Heart.

Clayton will be joined by Grand Army star Odessa Adlon, who has been confirmed to star in Hellraiser Hulu. Horror legend and Hellraiser creator Clive Barker is also joining the production (which has already been completed) as a producer.

The remaining cast includes Brandon Flynn, Goran Visnjic, Drew Starkey, Adam Faison, Aoife Hinds, Selina Lo and Hiam Abbass.

Even though the Hellraiser franchise never reached the same financial success as other horror series like Halloween and Friday the 13th, grossing under $50 million between 1987 and 1996 when the first four movies came out, the series has fostered a significant cult following. After 1996, multiple other films were made for the home market, and the franchise also extended to merchandise and graphic novels.

Hellraiser Hulu: Pinhead was genderless in Clive Barker’s original novella

Most diehard Hellraiser fans love this casting news, but some believe it’s another attempt at appealing to the “woke mob” (whatever that means). Here is a reminder that Pinhead was a genderless entity with a feminine-sounding voice in Barker’s original novella. Anyone, really, could play this character, and Clayton is a fantastic actress.

What should excite fans even more is that the upcoming film has Barker’s approval. He was quoted remarking on the designs from Bruckner’s film, adding that they “pay homage to what the first film created, but then takes it to places it’s never been before. This is a Hellraiser on a scale I simply didn’t expect.”

As for when fans will get to see the Cenobites and Clayton’s version of Pinhead return, you’ll have to wait until 2022, when the new movie will release directly onto Hulu, bypassing theaters. It’s especially fitting since next year will mark the 35th anniversary of the Hellraiser series.