Last week, ComingSoon.net/Superhero Hype! was invited by Universal Studios to visit the set of Guillermo del Toro’s comic-based sequel Hellboy II: The Golden Army, which had been shooting at the brand-new Korda Studios in Etyek, Hungary, about an hour outside Budapest. It was an amazing day delving into the world of Mike Mignola’s popular demon-fighting hero where we learned about what’s coming up for “Big Red”, once again played by Ron Perlman.
Over the course of the day, we spent a good amount of time with production designer Stephen Scott, returning to the franchise after doing the first movie four years ago, as he took us through the models and concept designs for the film’s fantastic sets, a few which we were able to explore first-hand, including an enormous outdoor recreation of a fictitious New York City street scene in Brooklyn and a set that was built inside an ancient church chapel.
We had a chance to speak to two of the new members of the “Hellboy” cast, Luke Goss and Anna Walton, who play Prince Nuada and Princess Nuala, a Elven brother and sister who fall on opposite sides of the war waged in the sequel, as well as Selma Blair, who returns as the pyrokinetic Liz Sherman, this time sporting a shorter haircut, and Doug Jones, who adds two more characters to the world of “Hellboy” while returning as the amphibious Abe Sapien. (We got to watch Jones playing a character that you might never suspect is him in a pivotal scene from the movie.)
Usually, on these set visits, it’s hard to get access to the director because they’re so busy making the movie, but the always jovial Guillermo (even after 105 days of shooting) spent a good deal of time talking to us about the movie whenever he could break away from his position behind the monitors. (Unfortunately, Ron Perlman wasn’t feeling too well so we didn’t have a chance to chat with him during our visit to Korda.)
We also spent some time exploring the creatures department where they showed us the costume worn by the newest member of the BPRD, Johann, and a variety of other wild creatures that could only come from the combined imaginations of Guillermo del Toro, Mike Mignola and a fantastic team of creature designers and artists.
Hopefully, we’ll be able to run the entire set visit and interviews sometime in the next few months, but until then, stay tuned right here to Superhero Hype!, your headquarters for all the news and info about Hellboy II: The Golden Army, which is scheduled for release on July 11, 2008.
Source: Edward Douglas
