With work on “The Hobbit” really starting to move forward, Guillermo del Toro updated MTV News this week with exclusive scripting, casting and pre-production news, including confirmation that “Hellboy” creator Mike Mignola will be coming aboard for early visualization.

“We are sketching and designing with Weta’s John Howe, and [Adam Lee],” del Toro offered. “Mike Mignola is coming soon. He’s going to do a stint on the design team.” This is good news for fans of Mignola, who worked with del Toro on both “Hellboy” films as well as providing some art for “Pan’s Labyrinth.”

“In about two, three months we’re going to full-on have more designers come on … from outside Weta. But we are already about a good third of the road [along] with some of the creatures — some really interesting and strong designs.” More…