Continuity

The trailer to Hellboy II: The Golden Army, the follow-up to Guillermo del Toro's masterpiece, can now be found online. I would link to it on Youtube, but I fear such an action would be futile, as there is little promise that link would endure. All on the internet is transient, but Youtube is particularly ephemeral, rivalled only by Wikipedia, where all is truly impermanent.

A search should bring you the trailer quick enough, and it is well worth viewing. Yes, I've been anticipating this sequel for a long time, but my interest has been magnified tenfold by this preview.

But as I watch, I find myself wondering what this is a sequel to. Surely it follows the first Hellboy film, but might it be in continuity with Pan's Labyrinth as well? The design and thematic connections are too similar to ignore, and there is little in Pan's Labyrinth which would preclude its existence in Hellboy's world.

Perhaps the similarities are merely due to the same designers or del Toro's love of the style, which would be understandable enough given its beauty. But I, for one, will be watching for clues of something more.

And then, in another sense, this may be something of a prequel. Guillermo del Toro is getting ready to direct the Hobbit, and that Troll is a bit familiar, too....