We hope Hancock enjoys his perch as the top super hero at the box office. Because Hellboy is coming for him next week!

Hellboy II: The Golden Army opens on July 11. Here’s what a series of movie critics are saying about the film…

- Hellboy II has more than a little heart to it; it’s scrappy and self-aware, and never out of touch with what it is… – Cinematical

- With writer-director del Toro given free license to go where his singular vision takes him, Hellboy II plays like Guillermo’s Greatest Hits with even hotter visual effects... — The Hollywood Reporter

- There’s a precision to the visual ornateness of Hellboy II that exceeds even that of its predecessor… — Variety

- Hellboy II feels like nothing less than the successor to Pan’s Labyrinth… dressed in spandex… — CHUD

In the latest commercial for Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, Hellboy teams up with Zachary Levi (Chuck from the NBA show, Chuck).

Check out these contrasting super heroes right now:

Guillermo del Toro loves monsters.

“I have always loved movies where the star is the monster. That has branded my view of art and storytelling all my life,” the director told MoviesOnline.

In Hellboy II: The Golden Army, del Toro demonstrates his devotion to creatures of all shapes and sizes.

“In the first movie, we did big, big creatures,” said. “One thing I wanted to explore this time was what would happen if the first attack came from tiny creatures that are actually cute.”

Enter the concept of fairies. Practically Tinkerbell-like, they have little else in common with their spritely namesakes.

“Guillermo outdid himself on the cuteness scale with the tooth fairies, but they’re nasty little things,” said Hellboy II star Selma Blair (pictured below).

Hellboy II: The Golden Army opens on July 11.

Veteran actor Ron Perlman has seen his career resuscitated thanks to the role of Hellboy. On July 11, he’ll star in the sequel, Hellboy II: The Golden Army.

In an effort to shed insight on his career and this character, Perlman recently sat down with Superherohype.com to answer a few questions:

Can you talk about your relationship with director Guillermo del Toro, how you first met and how it’s evolved?
Ron Perlman: It’s something I don’t want to overstate because it’s a gift from God. I mean, I regard this as some otherworldly, amazing stroke of good fortune, and if I talk about it too much or belabor it too much, I feel like I’m in danger of making it go away.

The minute we met, we knew that however many movies we did or didn’t do together, we dug each other, and without the benefit of bloodlines, we were going to be like brothers. Whether we are working together or not, there’s this wonderful friendship that’s the dearest part of the whole thing to me. If you can believe there’s something more dear than getting to play Hellboy in two movies.

Ron Perlman is ready to unleash Hell - in a good way - in Hellboy II: The Golden Army.

Most people who see this movie will presumably have seen the first movie, but some people won’t have. What would you like them to leave this movie with as far as Hellboy’s character arc?
Perlman: Well, first and foremost, I just hope they have the time of their life watching the movie, because whatever else it is, it’s meant to entertain and meant to have somebody be someplace for two hours and not think about the rest of the sh*t that we live in, of which sometimes there’s even too much to process.

But you get so much more in any Guillermo del Toro movie and I could stand here for two hours just addressing the other levels that are being harkened too along the way. Mostly, I’d like people to say, “Man, I really, really liked the first movie but the second one rocks!” That’s what I like.

With all this talk of Indiana Jones and Iron Man, we wonder if Hellboy is getting jealous.

After all, he’s a popular big screen hero that is getting very little attention heading into the summer of 2008. On July 11, though, Hellboy II: The Golden Army hits theaters across the country. Get psyched for it now with the movie’s trailer and poster:

Hellboy returns this summer in Hellboy 2: The Golden Army. The fun-filled, light-hearted action adventure movie comes out on July 11.

Here’s a look at photos of this unique hero in action…

In Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Luke Goss plays the role of Prince Nuada, the movie’s main antagonist. He recently talked with Super Hero Hype about the part:

Can you give us some background on your character?
Luke Goss: Yeah, this is one I have to think about without spoiling the plot. His father is the king of the Unseen Realm, as much as he’s the Elf King, he’s still the king of the Unseen Realm, and as his son and heir, I’m potentially the future king of that realm.

My father has some ideas that I don’t particularly believe in, and the great thing about Guillermo’s idea of a good guy/bad guy is that I think you get a lot of that stuff for free, you get a lot of the situation takes care of who’s the good guy and who’s the bad guy. When you got a great actor like Ron Perlman playing Hellboy, then they already know what’s going on, they know who the good guy is.

You got a father-son issue here again–without going into detail–that just gives it a great three-dimension to the story. Like everything Guillermo does, he’s not afraid to bring in sentiment and pain and family and issues to a genre media.

I love it because all the purists out there that kind of poo-poo the genre movies have to get over it, because Guillermo is directing the movie, which is great, and I’m lucky to be a part of it.

Read the full interview with Goss now.

Director Guillermo del Toro recently spoke to USA Today about his follow-up to Hellboy.

When asked about a sequel, the director said he didn’t hesitate. He had fallen in love with the cigar-smoking, red-bodied superhero with devil horns shaved to the nub to help him blend in with the public.

“I was surprised when they called,” del Toro says. “It was not a smashing success. But it did very well on DVD, so people were finding out about it.”

As for Hellboy II: The Golden Army - which will revolve around a world of elves, goblins and trolls forced out of the woods and into city sewers and tunnels due to urban sprawl - del Toro talked specifically about his vision for the film.

“This isn’t going to be Narnia-esque,” he said. “It won’t be a golden world. It will be a very tarnished, underworld magic kingdom. These beings are outcasts. I’m drawn to those sort of lived-in worlds.”

The director was also quick to add that Hellboy won’t lose its sarcastic sense of humor.

“I’ve always loved that Hellboy has a blue-collar mentality. He carries himself like an ordinary guy. He’s somebody who is constantly trying to prove that he can be who he chooses to be in spite of his perceived destiny.”

Three years ago, fans became acquainted not only with Abe Sapien and Hellboy, but also the red demon’s fiery girlfriend Liz Sherman.

Now, as we inch closer to the July 11 release of Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Universal is debuting a first look at Liz (Selma Blair) in her return to action.

Guillermo del Toro, the award-winning director behind Pan’s Labyrinth, will be behind the camera for the follow-up to Hellboy.

Here’s a plot synopsis of this movie, which should be a summer blockbuster in 2008:

After an ancient truce existing between humankind and the invisible realm of the fantastic is broken, hell on Earth is ready to erupt. A ruthless leader who treads the world above and the one below defies his bloodline and awakens an unstoppable army of creatures.

Now, it’s up to the planet’s toughest, roughest superhero to battle the merciless dictator and his marauders. He may be red. He may be horned. He may be misunderstood. But when you need the job done right, it’s time to call in Hellboy!

Along with his expanding team in the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Development - pyrokinetic girlfriend Liz (Selma Blair), aquatic empath Abe (Doug Jones) and protoplasmic mystic Johann - the BPRD will travel between the surface strata and the unseen magical one, where creatures of fantasy become corporeal. A

nd Hellboy, a creature of two worlds who’s accepted by neither, must choose between the life he knows and an unknown destiny that beckons him.