In 2004, Mike Mignola's G-man demon jumped from the pages of the Dark Horse Comics to the screen. Hellboy had devils, Nazis, firestarters, a resurrected Rasputin, and cats. Lots of cats. It wasn't a monster hit (ha), but sold well on DVD, and writer and director Guillermo del Toro started work on the sequel, even talking about a trilogy. Then Revolution Studios, the production company behind the film, went under and the sequel was orphaned.

Del Toro went on to a new movie, a dark Spanish-language fable set in fascist Spain: Pan's Labyrinth, which stormed film festivals and awards ceremonies around the world, taking home the BAFTA for Best Film Not in English and three Academy Awards. Del Toro, whose biggest previous movie was probably Blade II, was in hot demand, but turned down I Am Legend and Halo to go back to a movie close to his heart. He has said that Hellboy was one of his three favorite movies (behind Pan's Labyrinth and The Devil's Backbone, a Spanish-language film about a haunted orphanage), and in August 2006, Hellboy II: The Golden Army was back in production, this time with Universal.

HBII does take some turns from its predecessor; last time del Toro based the plot on the comics, but this time it's his original tale. And while most of the cast was happy to return, BPRD agent John Myers (Rupert Evans) was already committed to a stage run of Kiss of the Spider Woman, so he's been written out.

The story concerns two warring factions of elves who live in the vast underworld beneath our feet, one led by Princess Nuala, the other by her twin, the evil Prince Nuada. When a piece of a magic crown said to give its owner power over a mythic Golden Army goes up for auction in the surface world, Prince Nuada comes above ground and smack into Hellboy and the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense.

Another major storyline follows Abe Sapien, Hellboy's seaman sidekick, and his developing relationship with the elf princess. If, as he hopes, del Toro gets to finish his trilogy, he has said just as The Golden Army is "about" Abe, the third movie will focus on a new character, Johann Kraus, a German psychic-turned-ectoplasmic blob, encased in a glass-headed containment suit.

From production stills, it's clear that the monsters are both creepier and grander, and del Toro acknowledges that his experience with Pan's Labyrinth has had an influence. In a recent interview with Superhero Hype!, he said, "The first film was still designed like a comic book movie, in terms of the visual. On Pan's Labyrinth, I went for the visuals that I admired. I was able to design that movie in a freer way, and it is the same with this movie."

The connection is apparent, and makes sense; Doug Jones, the amazing physical actor behind the character magic of Pan and the Pale Man in Labyrinth, is reprising his role as Abe Sapien and filling two other parts: the Angel of Death, a disturbing humanoid with eyes on her wings, and the Chamberlain, an eight-foot tall creature described as "like a thumb with eyes." (He was the Silver Surfer in the last Fantastic Four movie too.)

You can watch the trailer here. The whole thing seems grander, more menacing, and more nightmarish than the first, although del Toro might not agree. He recently told USA Today, "Every time I hear about a superhero movie, they're saying it's darker than before, as if that gives it some street cred. If anything, this is going to be more like a fairy tale." Fairy tale? I wouldn't want to be this guy's kid, but I can't wait to see his movie.

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