Oscar-winner Guillermo del Toro has revealed that he wants to make aFrankensteinmovie trilogy. Del Toro has been a big name in Hollywood for a long time now, and he has always had a particular fascination with monsters. ButThe Shape of Waterput him on a whole new level. During a panel for Comic-Con@Home, the filmmaker revealed that he would love to adapt Mary Shelley’s timeless novel, provided the opportunity.
San Deigo Comic-Con isn’t happening as per usual this year. Instead, an online version of the event has been taking place over the weekend.Guillermo del Toroparticipated in a panel forAntlers, which he produced, alongside director Scott Cooper. During the conversation, they were asked what project they would make if they were afforded the budget and a green light from the studio. Here’s what del Toro had to say about it.
“I would do either At the Mountains of Madness or Frankenstein, which I’ve always envisioned as a two to three-part story. Because, in order to encompass the book, you have to change points of view.It’s a complex exercise. "
First off,At the Mountains of Madnesshas sort of become Guillermo del Toro’swhite whaleat this point. Del Toro spent a great deal of time developing H.P. Lovecraft’s classic novel for the big screen, with Tom Cruise attached to star. They were very close to filming at one point before the plug was pulled. Part of the problem is that, to do it right and to match del Toro’s vision, it would be very expensive. Even with the track record del Toro has, this is not an easy sell but clearly something that is still rattling around in the back of his mind.
But the idea ofFrankenstein, even in such an ambitious way, seems a bit more feasible right now. Universal Pictures is currently rebooting its classic monsters following the failure of theDark Universeconcept. Tom Cruise’sThe Mummydidn’t kickstart the planned cinematic universe like they had hoped. Bill Condon had been developing a Bride of Frankenstein remake as part of thatUniversal Monstersuniverse. However, this year’sThe Invisible Manproved to be a huge hit, leading the studio to take a filmmaker-first approach. They have since started developing other projects, such as a newWolfmanmovie starring Ryan Gosling.
Rumors were circulating last year that Jams Wan (The Conjuring,Aquaman) had his sights set on a newFrankensteinmovie, but that has yet to be confirmed. Meanwhile, Guillermo del Toro is busy withNightmare Alley. The movie had begun filming earlier this year before the widespread production shutdown kicked in. Once things settle down, del Toro will resume filming. There is no word yet on a release date but that will likely keep him busy well into 2021. He also has his long-gestatingPinnochiomovie at Netflix. So, even if he did get his wish,Frankensteinwould be a long way off. This news comes to us viaComic-Con.org.
