Even haters of the first flick have to admit that the thought of Hellboy facing off with the classic monsters from Universal’s film library falls into that so simple it’s genius category. The ultimate would be if they could come up with a way for Hellboy, Abbott and Costello to all meet The Invisible Man at some point.

“I must say that I’m having a great experience right now at Universal, because I find that their understanding of Hellboy as a possibility is so great,” del Toro says. “My hope is that if everything goes well and we continue [the franchise], Hellboy can start fighting the Universal monsters! I would love to see that.”

It’s enough to make a fanboy faint. And del Toro also adds that he’s not talking about designing new versions of Frankenstein, Dracula, The Wolf Man, and the rest of Universal’s stable of characters, ala Van Helsing, but rather recreating the classic Karloff/Lugosi/Chaney Jr./etc. classics of yesteryear.

…The idea of teaming Hellboy with the classic monsters also ties into one of the main reasons why, in del Toro’s opinion, Universal acquired the film rights to the character in the first place. The studio, he says, wanted another franchise that can live not just in movies but in various other media too.

Spread the word!