SCI FI Wire spoke with Hellboy star Ron Perlman, who revealed the sequel's working title is Hellboy 2: The Golden Army:
"I think that that's an invention based on a number of different things that have appeared in other comic books," Perlman said of the title in an interview while promoting the upcoming television miniseries Stephen King's Desperation.""But basically the idea for [Hellboy 2] was something that was hatched by [Hellboy comic-book creator] Mike Mignola, with [Hellboy writer-director] Guillermo [del Toro] sitting alongside of him. And then Guillermo, of course, did all of the writing. But, you know, the story was Mignola."
Hellboy director Guillermo del Toro posted an update on the sequel on DelToroFilms.com yesterday:
Mike and I wrote the screen story together and I wrote the script. But it is NOT based on anything yet published but Mike felt it had a lot of elements he has been keen to explore in the future of HB.
HBII: THE GOLDEN ARMY is currently being "put together" financially by Larry Gordon et al-
HBII is still my number one priority and no one is contemplating my "stepping down" just yet. It is highly unlikely -albeit possible- that it would happen but that would require a series of unfortunate finacial, logistic, personal events that seem remote at best. More likely than not, if the project were to stall I would still be attached as writer/director.
The timing for HBII seems right, what with the anime, game, comic book series, toys, etc. I believe that HB and the BPRD are -more than ever- in the public´s mind. One bit of good news or all Abe fans. Abe has a really dramatic role in this new story...
Doug Jones who portrayed Abe Sapien in Hellboy has been busy as of late. With a role in Sony's upcoming Benchwarmers and also a lead role in Guillermo Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth, Doug continues to take character acting to the next level.
So will Abe Sapien have a bigger role in Hellboy 2? That is exactly what we wanted to know and we had the chance to ask Doug Jones at the Masters of Horror 2 launch party that was held at the Ivar Club in Hollywood , California.
Doug reveals that while shooting Pan's Labyrinth in Spain , Del Toro stated that Abe will indeed have more screen time and that this time he gets a chance to fight some baddies. He admits that he has not yet read the script but that Guillermo promises that Abe will be on an equal playing level with Hellboy.
Doug throws out a cautionary quip regarding Abe. Guillermo told him fans may be angry with what he plans to do to our favorite amphibian although Doug says he has no idea what that might be. He quickly asked Del Toro if he planned on Hellboy 3. Guillermo said yes. Jones said good, he just wanted to make sure.