Hellboy 2 to Begin Production for Universal Pictures

Hellboy 2 to Begin Production for Universal Pictures

August 07, 2006

-- Guillermo del Toro Returns as Director in Second Installment of Motion Picture Series Based on Dark Horse Entertainment Characters

    UNIVERSAL CITY, Aug. 7 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Guillermo
del Toro will direct Universal Pictures' "Hellboy 2:
The Golden Army," which will continue the exploits of
the humanoid hero from Hell and his partners in the Bureau
for Paranormal Research and Development.  "Hellboy
2," a Lawrence Gordon/Lloyd Levin production in
association with Dark Horse Entertainment, will begin
principal photography in April 2007 in Budapest and London,
with pre- and post-production based in London. The film will
be released worldwide in the summer of 2008.

    (Logo: 
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060316/LATH064LOGO )

    "Hellboy 2" will be directed by Guillermo del
Toro, who most recently directed the elaborate fantasy
"Pan's Labyrinth," which was received
enthusiastically at this year's Cannes Film Festival and
will be released in December.  The screenplay for
"Hellboy 2" is written by Guillermo del Toro,
from a screen story by Mike Mignola and del Toro, based
upon the Dark Horse comic created by Mike Mignola and the
2004 motion picture "Hellboy." The first
installment, released by Revolution Studios in 2004, earned
$100 million at the worldwide box-office and became a cult
sensation when released on DVD. The character continues to
be a top-seller in publishing and collectibles and is now
expanding into animation and games. "Hellboy 2"
will be produced by Lawrence Gordon, Lloyd Levin and Mike
Richardson.  Chris Kenny is the executive producer of the
film, with Mike Mignola serving as co-producer.

    Ron Perlman returns to the title role as Hellboy, a
humanoid creature born in the flames of Hell and brought to
Earth as an infant.  Raised in secret, the adolescent
"HB" becomes an agent for the secret Bureau for
Paranormal Research and Development (BPRD), a covert
government agency which serves as the planet's line of
defense against otherworldly evil.  Selma Blair will also
reprise the role of Liz Sherman, a pyrokinetic human who is
HB's colleague and love interest.

    "Hellboy 2" will expand the world of Hellboy
and surround him with characters both new and familiar as
he confronts a deadly threat to mankind.

    In making the announcement, Universal Pictures Chairman
Marc Shmuger and Co-Chairman David Linde stated, "All
of us at Universal are delighted to be part of the
continuing adventures of Hellboy and his universe, as there
are few properties which offer this unique blend of action,
humor and character-based spectacle.  We are incredibly
excited by the potential of this film and even more so to
be working with Guillermo del Toro, whose vision for this
film has ignited the fanboy imagination in all of
us."

    About Universal Pictures

    Universal Pictures is a division of Universal Studios (
http://www.universalstudios.com ). Universal Studios is part
of NBC Universal. NBC Universal is one of the world's
leading media and entertainment companies in the
development, production, and marketing of entertainment,
news and information to a global audience. Formed in May
2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi, NBC
Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news
and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture
company, significant television production operations, a
leading television stations group and world-renowned theme
parks. NBC Universal is 80% owned by General Electric and
20% owned by Vivendi.

    For more information, please contact:

     Paul Pflug
     Principal Communications Group
     Tel:   [phone]

SOURCE  Universal Pictures