It’s a formula that’s stood Guillermo del Toro in good stead recently – one big Hollywood movie, followed by a more personal Spanish language movie. And now that his masterpiece (and we don’t use that word lightly), Pan’s Labyrinth is done and dusted (don’t miss it when it opens here in September), the Mexican director has turned his thoughts to his next project… with at least two movies vying for the privilege.
In the red corner is Hellboy 2 – the sequel to, um, Hellboy. In the blue corner, H.P. Lovecraft adaptation, At The Mountains Of Madness, the extraordinary novel about an Antarctic expedition which happens upon an ancient and terrifying civilisation.
And right now, Del Toro isn’t sure which one will be first, he revealed at a Pan’s Labyrinth panel today at the San Diego Comic-Con.
Hellboy 2 is the one he’d probably wish to press ahead with, but with the movie currently searching for a studio (Sony Revolutions, which made the first movie, has downsized its production arm… to a withered and bloody stump; while Paramount, where it’s currently stationed, look like repeating their mistake on Watchmen and passing), del Toro is pessimistic of its immediate chances.
At The Mountains Of Madness, set up at Warners, has a much better chance of going first – del Toro was scouting locations in last week and was effusive about the movie’s potential. “Oh man, you should see the maquettes,” he told the audience. “They are so beautiful, you will be crying and jerking yourself off in a corner at the same time.”
Lovecraft hasn’t really been committed to the big screen successfully – Stuart Gordon’s Re-Animator is the best direct adaptation, while del Toro himself believes that Alien and The Thing are the best homages to At The Mountains Of Madness ever made – but del Toro, with his love of fantasy and horror, is the man to do it.
Of course, there are other movies in del Toro’s line of sight, too… but we can’t tell you about those yet. Lips are sealed – but trust us, they’ll be worth the wait. How’s this for an order of business – At The Mountains Of Madness, Hellboy 2, and then the secret film... with a couple of great Spanish-language flicks sandwiched in between for good measure, of course…
Oh, and whatever happens, Ron Perlman will be a busy man, either as Hellboy himself or in At The Mountains Of Madness, for which del Toro has written him a 'beautiful part'.