The boys over at Rotten Tomatoes got to hang out in the editing suite for Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Warning: Spoilers Within), and they got their rotten bastard hands on some terrific concept art as well as a glimpse of ample footage from the film.

I can’t spill on the film until my review goes up next Saturday morning but I will unsubtly say that it’s bigger, crazier, and much more loose than the first film and that I’m dying to hear how you folks feel about it once it hits screens in July.

They got to see and talk about one of my favorite sequences, a pre-credits introduction featuring a great display of puppets enacting the historical backdrop to the film’s plot. Really inventive stuff and proof right out of the gate that Guillermo del Toro is pulling no punches creatively and stylistically this time around.

They also got to see Johann Krauss in action, which is a delight. I have no doubts that he’ll be the favorite character of many a viewer, which is saying something when you have Ron Perlman and Doug Jones doing what they do as good as they do it.

So much fun stuff on the horizon for this flick, as I’m heading to the premiere next weekend and plan to finally spill my take [and Devin his] on this gem, but in the meantime make sure to absorb everything the UK division of RT has provided.