Throughout April, we’re counting down to the release of Marvel’s Iron Man 3 with our picks for the Greatest Comic Book Movies of All Time; here’s #18…
Hellboy II: The Golden Army, 2008.
Directed by Guillermo del Toro.
Starring Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, John Alexander, James Dodd, Seth MacFarlane, Luke Goss, Anna Walton, Jeffrey Tambor, John Hurt and Brian Steele.
Director Guillermo del Toro reunites with Ron Perlman as Mike Mignola’s demonic hero Hellboy returns to protect humanity from Prince Nuada (Luke Goss, who also appeared as the main bad guy in another del Toro-directed comic book sequel, Blade II), who is looking to harness the power of the Golden Army – an “unstoppable force” of magical creatures.
Despite Hellboy turning a respectable profit for Columbia Pictures in 2004, it wasn’t until the release of the critically acclaimed Pan’s Labyrinth that del Toro was to get the go ahead for Hellboy II: The Golden Army. The sequel proved to be an even bigger hit than its predecessor, giving the geek-favourite filmmaker his best box-office returns to date with $160 million (we have a sneaking suspicion Pacific Rim might have something to say about that this summer). However, despite this success, del Toro has since struggled to raise financing for the proposed third instalment, and it’s starting to look increasingly unlikely that Hellboy 3 will ever see the light of day.
Hellboy II: The Golden Army marks the third appearance in our Top 50 Comic Book Movies for both del Toro and Perlman after Blade II (#39) and the original Hellboy (#29).
Keep up to date with our entire countdown here.
Holy Franchise, Batman! Bringing the Caped Crusader to the Screen – Available now via Amazon.co.uk
Originally published April 8, 2013. Updated November 30, 2022.
