10 Proposed Guillermo Del Toro Movies That We Really Hope Get Made

Due to his unique visual style and imagination, the films of Guillermo del Toro – including Spanish language horror Pan’s Labyrinth and superhero movie Hellboy – have garnered the man a legion of passionate fans. However, the Mexican-born director is still clearly viewed as a bit of a weird one within the industry. Perhaps this is because, out of all his films, only Pacific Rim has been a real box office success. As such, many of the director’s passion projects have failed to come to fruition, usually from not securing enough financial backing or lack of interest from studios. In fact, so many of his films have hit this brick wall that - fitting for someone whose work usually dabbles in the gothic - it seems like Guillermo del Toro is cursed. Hopefully he can lift that curse though, as here are eight un-produced films from del Toro that sound so awesome that we still hope they’ll get made. 8) The Haunted Mansion You may remember that Disney already released a movie called The Haunted Mansion, based off their popular theme park attraction starring Eddie Murphy. Or you might not, as the film was pretty forgettable and certainly did not, as Disney hoped, replicate the success of other theme park ride-turned-movie Pirates of the Caribbean. Apparently, del Toro took his family to see the movie and was so disappointed that he went to Disney and pitched his own version. His take would have delved into the urban legends that have surrounded the ride in real life, like the Hatbox Ghost who never actually appeared in the attraction. Disney were up for the idea, but news has dried up on the project for a long while – until last year when it was reported that Ryan Gosling was in talks to play the film’s lead. Let’s hope that this means that the project is a go. 7) Pinocchio Stop-motion animation is a terrifically time-consuming way of making animated movies, and it rarely brings in the big bucks of a CGI film, but it does often produce great, critically-acclaimed, results. Del Toro was at one stage planning a stop-motion film; an adaptation of The Adventures of Pinocchio. This would be great to see, as the director would be a perfect fit for the material. Even the Disney version – though its edges are rounded off – is pretty macabre, what with children being punished by being hideously turned into donkeys. Del Toro, meanwhile, would surely restore the even darker elements from the original tale. Concept art for the film was released (see above) but, unfortunately, nothing else ever was. What’s more, Disney are planning a new version as per their obsession with live-action re-treads of their classic films. So, it looks like del Toro’s Pinocchio won’t ever become a real boy, but we can still hope otherwise. 6) Pet Sematary Stephen King’s Pet Sematary is one of his most disturbing and haunting novels – he apparently tried to hide it from his publishers after writing it, fearing he had gone too far. The book has been adapted before back in the 70s, but del Toro was linked to a new version a few years ago. If you don’t know, the story follows a family who move near to a haunted pet cemetery where it is said that the animals therein come back from the dead. When tragedy strikes, however, things get even freakier… The project has swapped directors a few times since it was first mooted in 2010 – it has also missed its intended release date of the book’s thirtieth anniversary in 2013 – but del Toro is still eager to do the film, even joking “I would kill to make it.” Let’s hope he gets the chance to – before he does something he might regret… 5) Slaughterhouse-Five The novel Slaughterhouse-Five is a true original: Part war story, part memoir, part pulp sci-fi packed with time travel and aliens. Basically, it tells the story of Billy Pilgrim, who comes “unstuck in time” and lives the events of his life in a random order – events including fighting in World War II and being abducted by extra-terrestrials. Del Toro was attached to bring the novel to the screen back in 2011 but the project got stalled. It's a shame, too, as he'd be a great fit for the material. After all, he has previously balanced the seriousness of war with a more fantastical narrative in the likes of Pan’s Labyrinth and The Devil’s Backbone. What’s more, the movie’s script would have been written by Charlie Kaufman, who is likewise an expert at combining the absurd with the dramatic in films like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Adaptation. 4) Frankenstein Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein isn’t short of adaptations – not least the pretty poor duo of I, Frankenstein and Victor Frankenstein over the last couple of years - but this doesn’t stop the idea of a Guillermo del Toro-headed version sounding amazing. This is a self-confessed “dream project” of the director’s and he has said that, once he has time, he will take a three year break from all other work to get it right. In fact, he's already cast his old collaborator Doug Jones as the creature. Sadly, as del Toro is a busy man, nothing has been happening on the Frankenstein front for a while. Still, if we have patience, it may well happen eventually. After all, Universal plans to start a shared universe with its classic horror properties (e.g. Dracula, the Mummy, the Wolfman), so if del Toro’s film can blend with this - without compromising in quality - hopefully the project can come back from the dead. 3) Hellboy III The Hellboy films were never as big hitters as other comic book movies, but they have inspired a loyal cult following that has been crying out for a conclusion to the series since The Golden Army was released in 2008. Del Toro has announced the film is next on his to-do list several times, but sadly, it has never come about… so far. The first two films were made by two different studios, Columbia and Universal, both of whom turned down doing another because the series didn’t bring in enough profit. Hopefully the franchise can find yet another new home to make a third film. Star Ron Perlman, now 65, is still lobbying for the movie and del Toro is very eager to tell another chapter in Hellboy’s story – namely having the character face his destiny that says he will bring about the apocalypse. Come on, people, there is a story that needs to be told here! Let's get this film made. 2) Justice League Dark While the absence of a Hellboy III is sad, at least we have already had two Hellboy films. We are even more eager, then, for del Toro to have a go at a different comic book property that he has been linked with. Namely, Justice League Dark, a touted movie version of DC’s supernatural counterpart to the more wholesome Justice League – featuring sorceress Zatanna, Shade the Changing Man and Constantine, off TV’s Constantine. Originally, the film was announced to be part of DC’s movie universe and was pencilled in for a 2017 release. Lately, though, news on the movie has dried up. Interestingly, del Toro has previously said that he couldn’t make the film as it would clash with Pacific Rim 2. Now that he isn’t directing that one though, our fingers are crossed that Justice League Dark will be reignited. 1) At The Mountains Of Madness Any Guillermo del Toro fan will know that the director’s biggest aim is to translate H.P. Lovecraft’s At The Mountains of Madness to the big screen. The story is a horror classic, focusing on the discovery of an ancient, alien civilization in the Antarctic. His passion for the project, when it was most active at the end of the 00s, inspired other big Hollywood names to get involved. James Cameron was set to produce, bringing his state-of-the-art CGI from Avatar with him. Plus, Tom Cruise was going to star. Sadly, At The Mountains of Madness is probably impossible to make without compromise. Del Toro’s ideal version is an R-rated, unflinching movie that needs a huge budget to do the story justice. No studio is going to agree to that as the chances of such a strange film making a big impression at the box office is pretty slim. As such, the project is looking more and more like a pipe dream. But then again, who knows? As del Toro’s weird and wonderful filmography proves, stranger things have happened.