Hellboy 2 Consigned to Limbo
But the cartoon is going forward full-speed like a bat out of... oh, you know where.
Hellboy director Guillermo del Toro told Comic-Con attendees the sad news that the sequel is still not a sure thing. The problem is finding a studio that wants to do right by the franchise (the film recently moved from Sony to Paramount). However, the script has been approved by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola.
"I hope it gets made, but that is really all I can say right now," said del Toro.
Mignola said that although the script's details are secret, the concepts raised will be explored in some Hellboy comics in the near future.
Meanwhile, producer Tad Stones talked about the Hellboy animated features being made for the Cartoon Network. Don't expect a full-blown B.P.R.D. reunion in the upcoming movies, he told Superhero Hype. Instead, the movies will focus on Hellboy.
"We're not building the Justice League," said Stones. "We're not building the team. It is still about Hellboy."
Still, look for Kate Corrigan, Dr. Manning and Sidney Leech (the human metal detector). Johann, Lobster Johnson and Roger will not appear.
"We talked about Roger, but his story is so big we elected not to have him," said Stones. "He's a strange character and his story really merits its own movie, so who knows."
"Storm of Storms" is the first feature; an Alice in Wonderland-like tale of Hellboy falling down a well that leads somewhere else.
"What he doesn't know is that there is a bad guy moving chess pieces in the form of Japanese-styled monsters as obstacles to block his way," he said. "The most he is told is the hang onto the sword and head east. There is a conundrum where... wait, I can't really tell you that!"
Big screen Hellboy Ron Perlman voices the character for the films. Selma Blair (Liz), John Hurt (Broom) and Doug Jones (Abe Sapien) will also be back. "Ron is Hellboy," said Stones. "The reason we have a lot of the same cast as the movie is because we asked them and they said 'yes!'"
Look for a slightly different take on Hellboy's designs than that of the Mignola comics. "Mike likes to see different interpretations of his work," said Stones. "His work is very unique on the page and takes a long time to do. He looks at each page like a separate work of art."
Cartoon Network has the rights to the films for seven years and Stones hopes their success will spawn even more Hellboy projects.
You can check out the official Hellboy animated movie Web site here.