Has the New Hellboy movie release date been made public?

Título: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Director: Guillermo del Toro

País: EE.UU.

Año: 2008

Duración: 120 min

Género: Acción, fantasía,

Interpretación: Ron Perlman (Hellboy), Selma Blair (Liz Sherman), Doug Jones (Abe Sapien / Chambelán / Ángel de la Muerte), Luke Goss (Príncipe Nuada),

Guión: Guillermo del Toro

Sistema: NTSC

Cuando se rompe la tregua entre los seres humanos y los primeros hijos de la Tierra, el costo recae en el mundo. El príncipe del mundo subterráneo, Nuada estaba cansado de inclinarse a los seres humanos. Lo que vas a despertar a un ejército de máquinas para volver a tomar lo que era suyo. Por último, las criaturas mágicas podrán deambular por la tierra a voluntad. Sólo Hellboy puede detener al oscuro líder y salvar al mundo de la aniquilación.

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Marc Graser – Variety

Just weeks before Paramount Pictures invades theaters with “G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra,” the studio is teaming with Joe Roth to pick up Mattel’s “Max Steel” as another action figure it wants to play with on the bigscreen.

The toy property revolves around a 19-year-old extreme sports junkie recruited by a secret agency after an accident infects his body with nanobots, making him superhuman.

Although Mattel introduced the character in the U.S. in 1999 as an action figure, and soon after in an animated series that ran from 2000-2002, he’s proved more popular in Latin America, where Max Steel is the region’s No. 1 action figure. Mattel has continued to produce animated direct-to-DVD features for the region, produced by Rainmaker Entertainment in Vancouver.

But Mattel wants to use movies as a way to relaunch the toy line in the U.S. and the rest of the world, the way the “Transformers” pics have helped generate new heat around Hasbro’s action figures.

“A theatrical film plays a significant role to relaunch the franchise,” said Barry Waldo, Mattel’s VP of worldwide entertainment marketing and strategy. “But we have a strong Latin consumer we’re going to keep happy while broadening the franchise for the rest of the world. We wouldn’t do ourselves a favor if we turned a blind eye to it. That’s the artistic challenge we’ve got.”

Roth, who is a producer on Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” at Disney, and produced last summer’s “Hellboy 2: The Golden Army,” will serve as executive producer on “Max Steel,” with Waldo and Tim Kilpin, general manager for Mattel’s girls, boys and games group, who is shepherding the company’s top brands for boys and girls.

Mattel was keen on pairing with Roth, considering the Max Steel character has similarities to the “XXX” franchise he launched while head of Revolution Studios. The Xander Cage character in the first film was an extreme sports athlete turned spy.

Roth has had a relationship with Mattel over the years when it comes to marketing and charities.

Mattel and Roth are seeking a screenwriter and director, who will work closely with the toymaker to develop the film’s characters and storyline to match the company’s plans for the franchise.

“Max Steel” will be the first pic Mattel has set up at Paramount since it began aggressively looking to turn its toys into features.

It’s the sixth property that Mattel has set up in the past year or so since signing with Creative Artists Agency to get those movies made. Mattel has “He-Man: Masters of the Universe” and “Hot Wheels” at Warner Bros. with Joel Silver producing; “Major Matt Mason” with Tom Hanks; and a musical based on a yet-to-be-revealed monster property at Universal that Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are shepherding. A “View-Master” movie is also in the works at DreamWorks, with Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman producing

Amazon Specials!

The 35th Annual Saturn Awards took place last night, here’s a full list of winners:

SciFi Film: Iron Man

Fantasy Film: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Horror Film: Hellboy 2: The Golden Army

Action/Adventure/Thriller Film: The Dark Knight

Actor: Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man)

Actress: Angelina Jolie (Changeling)

Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)

Supporting Actress: Tilda Swinton (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)

Young Actor: Jaden Christopher Smith (The Day the Earth Stood Still)

Director: Jon Favreau (Iron Man)

Writer: Christopher & Jonathan Nolan (The Dark Knight)

Music: Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard (The Dark Knight)

Costume: Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Make-Up: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Special Effects: The Dark Knight

International Film: Let The Right One In

Animated Film: Wall-E

TV Series: Lost

Cable TV Series: Battlestar Galactica

TV Actor: Edward James Olmos (Battlestar Galactica)

TV Actress: Mary McDonnell (Battlestar Galactica)

TV Supporting Actor: Adrian Pasdar (Heroes)

TV Supporting Actress: Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter)

TV Guest Role: Jimmy Smits (Dexter)

DVD: Jack Books: Monster Slayer

DVD Special Edition: The Mist

DVD Classic Film: Psycho

DVD Collection: The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration

DVD TV Series: Moonlight

DVD Retro TV Series: The Invaders

Life Career Award: Lance Henriksen

Lifetime Achievement Award: Leonard Nimoy

Visionary Award: Jeffrey Katzenberg

Premise: Hellboy is back for a second installment. Heir to an ancient Elven kingdom, Prince Nuada returns from years of exile to claim the throne and break the ancient treaties spelling out peace between their kind and the human race after the use of the “Golden Army”, a battalion of mechanical monsters that could wipe out all of humanity. Wishing to awaken the fabled Golden Army with the 3 pieces of the master crown, Prince Nuada must pursue his twin sister Princess Nuala who has stolen the 3rd and crucial crown piece.

In despair, Princess Nuala must rely on the help of our unlikely heros of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, including Hellboy, who continues to chafe against the restraints placed upon him to hide him from an society that could never understand him. Placed on a collision course with Prince Nuada to disable the Golden Army and assure peace to the world, Hellboy must come to terms with both his troubled relationship with his pyrokinetic girlfriend Liz and <spoiler = his new role of fatherhood>.

Analysis: I will be honest… I didn’t really care for the first Hellboy. My wife seems to be a big fan, so I gave the second one a go and came to the same results… its full of flashing action, but is light on meaningful plot of any kind, (not obviously a part of this type of movie genre by definition, but it tends to be the norm).

The whole relationship thing between the characters seemed so contrived… especially between the Liz and Hellboy characters… alot more could have been done with this imho.

Some of the effects were pretty cool, (the toothfaries scene was both creepy and well-done), and the fight scenes with Prince Nuada were very impressive. The movie below is the ONLY movie I could find on Youtube that portrayed the fight scenes… sorry for the kinda sappy music.

So yah, overall an OK movie… kinda like the first one. I think this one had some much more notable action, but overall I just really couldn’t get into it.

Best Quote(s):

Angel of Death: And yours, Elizabeth Sherman. At last, I have been waiting for you both, I am his death and I will meet him at every crossroad.

Liz Sherman: Can you save him?

Angel of Death: It is for you to decide. It is all the same to me, my heart is filled with dust and sand. But you should know, it is his destiny to bring about the destruction of the Earth… not now, not tomorrow but soon enough. Knowing that, you still want him to live?

[Liz pauses]

Angel of Death: So, child, make the choice. The world, or him?
Liz Sherman: Him.

Angel of Death: The time will come, and you, my dear, will suffer more than anyone.

Liz Sherman: I’ll deal with it. Now save him.

Angel of Death: It is done.

[the Angel removes the spearhead from Hellboy's chest]

Angel of Death: I have done what I can, now give him a reason to live.

Official Trailer:

<<IMDB Website>>

My Netflix Rating: 3 stars out of 5

Constant readers will know that I am something of a Guillermo del Toro fan having lapped up both Cronos and Pan’s Labyrinth. It will therefore come as a bit of a surprise that I didn’t manage to see Hellboy 2 in the cinema and I can assure you, having now seen it on DVD, I wish I had made it to the picturehouse.

Hellboy 2 picks up Hellboy’s story a short while after the first film. Hellboy, Abe and Liz are now once again a functioning team at the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense where they continue to cause headaches for the government by appearing on camera at every opportunity. Liz and Hellboy’s relationship is running into the usual now-we’re-living-together issues such as the place being a mess, the cats getting everywhere, important secrets being kept and being the destined to end the world.

Meanwhile, Prince Nuada, the son of the King of the Elves, has been hunting down the pieces of his father’s crown in order to dethrone him and take control of the Golden Army and lead the creatures of myth against mankind. Why? Because mankind is evil, corrupt and has forced the creatures of myth into cracks of the world. There’s a problem: his twin sister Nuala has run into the world of men carrying with her a piece of the crown and Nuada has inadvertently drawn the attention of Hellboy in his attempts to capture another piece. Hellboy is all that stands between mankind and The Golden Army.

Although openly hailed as a tribute to Hellboy comic creator, Mike Mignola, there are plenty of del Toro’s own traits on display here. Although less explicit than in Pan’s Labyrinth there is a clear reference to del Toro’s oft used theme of humanity being the real monsters and this is shown in a surprisingly effective performance from Luke Goss as Nuada. Nuada is not a straight forward bad guy and in places you find yourself routing for him, realising that he is not actually wrong in his opinion of humanity.

As ever, the artwork and monster effects are spectacularly achieved with del Toro’s team using their trademark mixture of traditional effects makeup and CGI to bring the world of Hellboy alive. The results are gorgeous with a richly realised underworld that is – like much of the best fantasy – worth exploring without even coming onto the plot of the story. Doug Jones shows his usual versatility taking on no less than three roles – one of which I failed to recognise as being him until the second viewing and I think a new drinking game could reasonably be created around “spot Doug” as I suspect he plays another unaccredited role.

Perlman is consistently effective as Hellboy, a role that he seems to have been born to play and Selma Blair makes good use of quite restricted screen time. I found the plot of the film good in the sense it explored the themes I’d come to expect from del Toro but weak in the sense that it didn’t seem to have enough meat for the length of the film. There is a clear set up for subsequent installments in the franchise and certainly this sequel is better than the first film but I suspect the writing will need to be upped a notch to carry it beyond one more film. That is not to say the writing is weak because it isn’t, just that I felt the running time was slightly over-stretching the legs of the idea. I digress.

If you love well crafted fantasy films utilising creative creature effects and intelligent CGI backed up by solid performances then this film is for you. To truly appreciate it I highly recommend the largest TV you can find with the best sound system available and at least two viewings to drink in all the visual detail on display. Like a comic there are layers here and if you only take a way a cool action film then I think you’re missing out. A damned good film.

Three things.

1. It really helps to watch Hellboy II: The Golden Army with the Brightness on the TV turned all the way up. I cannot stress this enough. The movie is too dark to see all the details unless you go with maximum Brightness.

2. Upper Deck’s Hellboy Essential Collection trading card game still tops the list. I spent all night reviewing each other potential champion, and it still wins. If you know someone who enjoys deep strategy and debauched myths, you MUST track it down and give it as a holiday gift.

3. Monday night, one minute after midnight, is Marvel Evolution Preview Time once again right here at Full Body Transplant. Check this discussion forum for an early tease.

I have been bountifully blessed in my life, and one of the most satisfying connections ever made is between me and Hellboy. That screenshot is from an article I wrote on the mothership. Yes, I had the ultimate privilege of introducing the world to the Vs. System cardboard incarnation of Karl Ruprecht Kroenen.

The Essential Hellboy Collection remains the single greatest trading card game achievement in all of human history, in my humble opinion. It is increasingly rare, yet still can be found in a few places. If you have forgotten the guts of the thing, the entire interactive card list is available on Universe.

That is the combination I am dreaming of since The Leapfrog has been revealed, and the Zinco Epilogue gives strong hints about the potential return of Kroenen to the multiplex.

Before we get to that, I have one bit of advice. Watch Hellboy 2 with the Brightness on your TV turned all the way up. There is so much more detail in the costumes and sets that emerges if you can see it all. Honestly, the film is 144% better with maximum Brightness.

Slight spoiler to follow…

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army can be purchased in a Collector’s Edition that includes the alternate ending that never got filmed, in animated comic form. It rocks Karl Ruprecht Kroenen back to life, yes it does.

I, for one, hope that this signals a return of our favorite clockwork villain in the third film.

When I surfed around to find out more about this development, I found a sweet home for the inside dope on the evolving Hellboy mythos.  And I deeply dug the blurb detailing the villain star of the Zinco Epilogue.

Roderick Zinco is a billionaire who joined a secret society, THE WOTANIC CIRCLE, in order to gain access to the equipment that brought Hellboy into the world, equipment that promises a limitless source of energy.  Zinco’s journey to Hell through the picture is the classic cautionary horror story of “be careful what you wish for.”  He is the canvas upon which Rasputin’s evil is traced.

Wow. To be the “canvas upon which Rasputin’s evil is traced”.  Nice work if you can get it. Sounds about like the evil I plan to unleash with my Plague of Leapfrogs deck.  Care to help me trace?

Hellboy 2 Golden Army Movie Photos (27), originally uploaded by divxplanet.

Doug Jones as Abe Sapien, winner of the “I should not be attracted to this man, but I am!” I liked his character in the first Hellboy movie, but I was in love when the second came out. I think it was because of Doug’s gentle voice and the fact that Abe found love. And Abe is a nerd who loves reading too.

Fiz este papel de parede com uma imagem amplamente divulgada de um dos posteres do filme Hellboy 2: O Exército Dourado (Hellboy 2: The Golden Army), ótimo filme baseado nos personagens criados pelo quadrinista Mike Mignola, dirigido por Guillermo del Toro e estrelado por Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Luke Goss, Thomas Kretschmann, Doug Jones, Luke Goss, Anna Walton, Brian Steele, Roy Dotrice e John Hurt.

Para ler mais sobre Hellboy, CLIQUE AQUI. Para ver outros wallpapers, CLIQUE AQUI. Para visitar o site oficial, CLIQUE AQUI.

HELLBOY II – THE GOLDEN ARMY (Estados Unidos, Acción, 120 Minutos)
Dirección: Guillermo Del Toro.
Guión: Guillermo Del Toro, Mike Mignola.
Reparto: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, Luke Goss, Seth MacFarlane, Anna Walton, Brian Steele, Roy Dotrice, John Hurt.
Música: Danny Elfman.

Valoración: 5/10

Resumen: Tras siglos de tregua, el príncipe Nuada ha vuelto dispuesto a declarar la guerra a la humanidad. Para ello, y pese a la oposición de su padre y su hermana, el heredero al trono del submundo está dispuesto a liberar a una terrible arma conocida como el ejército dorado, una legión invencible que amenaza con destruir la civilización humana. Lo único que se interpone en el camino de Nuada es Hellboy, un demonio criado entre los humanos, y sus compañeros del ultrasecreto AIDP.

Crítica: Que Guillermo Del Toro no se toma Hellboy muy en serio ya nos quedó claro en el anterior filme del demonio rojo. Y tal vez un visionario como el azteca tenga sus razones para no dar demasiada profundidad a un héroe con cola, cuernos y rostro imposible. ¿Cómo hacer pasar a un ser con esa pinta por un devoto salvador, ante un público acostumbrado a la perfección fotogénica? Tal vez por eso Del Toro, fan confeso del tebeo, haya preferido intentar convertir la franquicia en un auténtico blockbuster en lugar de en una fiel adaptación de la visión de Mike Mignola -para más señas, también parte importante de esta producción-. Del Toro ha lanzado lastre y se ha quedado con lo esencial, los ingredientes básicos que le garanticen un sitio en taquilla y un espacio en las mentes del gran público. El misterio y lo esotérico, dan paso a la acción y la aventura, el peso de la predestinación a una serie de problemas familiares (muy de moda en el cine de aventuras), los vacíos escénicos marca de la casa Mignola a un brillante barroquismo -marca de la casa Del Toro, que vuelve a demostrar que es un artesano de los de la vieja escuela- en la confección de personajes y escenarios… El tono cambia radicalmente y abandona las lúgubres leyendas y los augurios apocalípticos, por una trama más sencilla en la que Del Toro puede sentar las bases de su plan: reírse de sí mismo, de sus personajes e incluso de la propia trama principal, pasada casi a un segundo plano por los devaneos románticos y familiares de sus monstruitos. Hellboy es en su versión cinematográfica más carismático, pero también más artificial y cargante. Es un monstruo -se puede usar si se quiere la palabra freak-, rodeado de incompresión más allá de la banda de inadaptados con la que convive. La autoparodia es la mejor definición para un personaje que rompe absolutamente con la concepción clásica del superhéroe, pero que a pesar de ello sigue pareciendo en algunos momentos tan encorsetado como algunos de sus compañeros de género. Hellboy 2 es el modelo a seguir si se quiere hacer un divertidísimo taquillazo familiar… y que se note.

Reseña:

Cuando se rompe la antigua tregua entre los seres humanos y los primeros hijos de la Tierra, el infierno se apodera del mundo. El anárquico príncipe del mundo subterráneo, Nuada (Luke Goss), se ha cansado de inclinarse ante los seres humanos. Se le ocurre despertar a un ejército de máquinas de matar que volverá a apoderarse de lo que fue suyo. Por fin, las criaturas mágicas podrán pasearse por la Tierra a su antojo. Sólo Hellboy (Ron Perlman) puede detener al oscuro líder y salvar al mundo de la aniquilación.

Ficha Tecnica:

Titulo: HellBoy 2 The Golden Army (2008)

Genero: Acción, Ciencia Ficción, Comedia.

Idioma: Ingles con subtitulos Español.

New feature I’m gonna start doing, as I’m lazy and basically just have the time. Quick reviews on new albums i may have bought, films I’ve recently seen and games I’ve given a go etc. Will include a pretty pic, negative/positive comments and a score out of ten. Let’s go:

Ron Perlman

+Visually stunning, great story, and in depth characters.

- Never convinced by the chemistry of the main love interest, slightly predictable.

8/10

Although comparison of this film with The Dark Knight is entirely expected given the chronological closeness of the two and their places within the comic book genre, I don’t think the comparison really serves either film with any fairness.

The Dark Knight has been garnished with praise beyond belief and no doubt it is an outstanding film. But it’s by no means the be all and end all of comic book movies. It’s a beautifully-created mess of a film that is very good but exhausting given the bleak worldview, relentless thematic ideas and huge performance of Heath Ledger. It leaves a space for a film like Hellboy 2 to fill, a comic book movie that eschews the engagement with real crime and overtly political issues that The Dark Knight hits and rather provides a phantasmagorical fantasy story-book world in which an audience can exist fall.

Guillermo Del Toro’s previous film prior to Hellboy 2, Pan’s Labyrinth, is among the finest pieces of work created on this side of the millennium. One of its key charms is the imagination that he manages to bring to the piece, specifically to the set design and the monsters he creates as part of the fantasy world of the lead character. Although I would argue that perhaps Hellboy 2 goes one monster too far in its array of fantastical beasts, eventually becoming an veritable conveyor belt from Del Toro’s mind, the sheer wealth of design ideas here and the consistent ability to avoid getting bogged down with overarching themes and plot gives this film a lightness on its feet that makes it both charming and hugely enjoyable to watch. Maybe it’s somewhat hollow but I think to start walking into every comic movie post-The Dark Knight expecting to watch a coruscating deconstruction of superheroes and relentless ‘dark’ storytelling is both dangerous and unwarranted. Surely there is no one who really wants to see constantly dark comic book movies because at some point, there becomes a need for entertainment to burst through and for movies to make sure they understand their place as escapism. I loved The Dark Knight, but I don’t want to go into a Hellboy film an be engaged on issues of national security, surveillance and domestic terrorism.

Hellboy 2 is fun, funny and breezy, never taking itself too seriously and providing a great slice of entertaining escapist cinema with set design and imagination to rival anything around.

Read Cassam at Screenjabber’s thoughts on the film here.

Hellboy and the crew

Guillermo Del Toro does it again.  He is a director who is in such control of his craft.  His imagination seems to be endless.  The first “Hellboy” was a terrific film, but you got the feeling that Del Toro was being restrained some how.  The movie pushed the limits of the PG-13 rating.  This time he seems to have been aloud to to let his imagination to truly run wild.  He also has a budget twice the size of the first film. 

This time Hellboy, played by Ron Perlman again, goes up against an ancient prince, who is bent on destroying mankind for betraying a long standing truce.  He is joined again by Liz, played by Selma Blair and Abe Sapien, voiced by David Hyde Pierce. 

Joining the group is a newcomer Johann Krauss, voiced by Seth McFarlane. He is a myst like creature that occupies an awkward looking suit that seems more at home with a diving suit from the 40’s.  His personality is by the book, and makes a perfect comedic foil to Hellboy. 

The action scenes are more epic, especially when the team battles a giant octopod creature in the streets of New York, or when they go head to head with the ancient golden army, but what really stood out in this movie was the bizarre creatures and monsters that come from the mind of Del Toro.  There is an especially amazing sequence that takes place in a Troll Market that must have been inspired by the Bar on Tatooine. 

So far the summer of 2008 has been one of the best summers for movies in recent memory.  It has taken genre movies to a whole new level.  Movies like “Hellboy 2″, “Iron Man”, “Incredible Hulk”, and most of all, “The Dark Knight”, have elevated comic book and genre films to a whole new plain of movie making.  We are living in a good period for cinema right now.

Guillermo del Toro Gómez, nació en Guadalajara, Jalisco, el día 9 de octubre de 1964.

Su relación con el cine comienza en su infancia, cuando a los siete años tuvo por primera vez una cámara Súper 8 en sus manos, y rodó con ella “una película”, pero su primer trabajo conocido es un corto: “Matilde”, que realizó mientras estudiaba maquillaje y efectos especiales, en el Instituto de Ciencias de la Ciudad de Guadalajara, en el año 1983.

En 1984, con 20 años, trabajó como asistente de producción en el thriller “El corazón de la Noche”, de Jaime Humberto Hermosillo, y al año siguiente, lo hizo ya como productor ejecutivo, en “Doña Herlinda y su hijo”, (del mismo director), al tiempo que preparaba su corto “Doña Lupe”, y era asistente de dirección de Juán antonio de la Riva, en “Obdulia”.

Sus estudios en el campo de los efectos especiales y maquillaje, le indujeron a fundar en 1985 la empresa “Necropia”, con la que realizó trabajos para varias producciones, tales como “Mentiras piadosas” (1987), de Arturo Ripstein, “Bandidos” (1990), de Luis Estrada, o “Dollar Mambo” (1993), de Paul Leduc.

Esto influyó en que en 1988 se le ofertara realizar efectos especiales para la serie televisiva de ficción-terror, “La Hora Marcada”, con la posibilidad de dirigir algún episodio. Finalmente dirigió cuatro.

Tras este trabajo, acabó un nuevo corto: “Geometría”, que junto con el anterior, “Doña Lupe”, fueron seleccionados para varios festivales internacionales, lo que le abrió puertas para realizar sus primeros largometrajes para televisión: “Con todo para llevar (1989), “Caminos de ayer” (1990), e “Invasión”, también del 90, los tres inéditos en España.

Mientras, preparaba ya su primer largometraje, “Cronos”, que ultimaría y estrenaría en 1993. Para cubrir costos de la película, (que el Instituto Cinematográfico Mexicano no había subvencionado en su totalidad), Del Toro había tenido que hipotecar su casa, pero su original historia de vampiros cosechó excelentes frutos, tanto de reconocimientos, como de taquilla a nivel mundial. Ganó entre otros, el premio Ariel de la Academia Mexicana de Artes y Ciencias Cinematográficas a la mejor película en, pero fue el galardón del Festival de Canes, el que hizo que los productores de Hollywood se fijaran en el, y lo reclamaran para dirigir un proyecto.

“Mimic” (1997), era ese proyecto, y famosos los enfrentamientos que Del Toro mantuvo con los productores durante el rodaje. Finalmente, quedó algo de su sello en la película, y aunque no fue tan apreciada como la anterior, este film dio a conocer definitivamente su nombre.

Decidido a que su siguiente film fuera más personal, contactó con Pedro Almodóvar, que ya se había interesado anteriormente por el, al ver su trabajo en “Cronos”.

Coproducida por la productora de Almodóvar, “El Deseo”, se puso en marcha “El espinazo del diablo” (1991), inspirada en la obra seriada “Paracuellos”, del dibujante español Carlos Jiménez, en la que relata sus vivencias en un orfanato del Auxilio Social, en la posguerra española. El propio Giménez fue reclamado para realizar el story board de algunas de la secuencias, y colaboró con Del Toro en la ambientación y decoración de los escenarios.

El resultado de “El espinazo del diablo”, fue una historia opresiva y triste, con elementos sobrenaturales, que fue bien acogida por crítica y público, y en la que es innegable la firma de su director.

En 2002 volvió a aceptar un encargo, para dirigir, en esta ocasión, la secuela de “Blade” (1998), personaje creado para el comic book “La tumba de Drácula”, de la Marvel Comics. Al tratarse de una adaptación de un comic, de los que Del Toro es un gran aficionado, su rodaje le resultó más satisfactorio, a diferencia de “Mimic”. Introdujo en esta película a Ron Perlman, para que los productores pudieran valorarlo y lo aceptasen para su siguiente proyecto, “Hellboy”, (otro personaje de comic) como protagonista, en lugar de a Vin Diesel, en el que ya tenían puestos los ojos.

Para llevar a cabo la dirección de “Hellboy” (2004), rechazó dirigir “Blade: Trinity”, “Alien vs Predator” y “Harry Potter y el Prisionero de Azkaban”. El mismo año, co-produjo “Crónicas”, de Sebastián Cordero.

Su siguiente trabajo, “El laberinto del Fauno” (2006), sitúa la acción en España, en el año 1944, en plena posguerra. En esta fábula no dirigida al público infantil, nos cuenta la cruda historia de una niña de 13 años, que gracias a su afición a las historias de fantasía, y a su imaginación, se refugia en un mundo irreal para evadirse de la triste realidad de su vida. La película, coproduccion hispanomexicana, fue recibida con muy buenas críticas, y se convirtió en un gran éxito de taquilla, recibiendo numerosos galardones en diferentes festivales de cine, y siendo propuesta para los Oscar, como mejor película extranjera, siendo la primera película de género fantástico nominada para esa categoría.

También en 2006, participó en la producción de la película española “El Orfanato”, de Juan Antonio Bayona.

En el momento de redactar esta biografía, estamos pendientes de su último film “Hellboy 2: The Golden Army” (“Hellboy 2: El Ejército Dorado”), producción de este mismo año, y que se estrenará en España el día 29 de este mes.

Continúa produciendo películas de otros directores, y está prácticamente confirmado que su próximo proyecto será “El Hobbit”, basado en la novela de J.R.R. Tolkien, que será realizado en dos partes, y que posiblemente se estrenen entre 2010 y 2011.

Filmografía

Cronos (1993)
Mimic (1997)
El espinazo del diablo (2001)
Blade II (2002)
Hellboy (2004)
El laberinto del fauno (2006)
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (2008)