What Next?

Remember when we were asking that same question after HELLBOY 2? All kinds of speculation on what project would be next. The assumption would be some long-gestating project that GDT had in a file drawer somewhere.

Then THE HOBBIT came out of left field.

Well, we are in that situation yet again - what next?

Lots of rumors floating around, so let me tell you what I know.

There are three projects Guillermo is considering doing. What they are, I don't know. But I have some guesses.

First of all, Guillermo, in his words, is not going to do a "rebound" movie. Whatever he does, it will be a project meaningful to him.

Second, he wants to get going in May, so that means the script is ready, or almost ready, to film. That takes out HELLBOY 3, which does not have a script ready.

So what are the potential projects on his plate that we know about? I'll go through them and weigh in on their likelihood:

AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS
Won't happen because GDT still has not lined up the studio support. This is a difficult film to sell to a studio - $70 to $80 million budget, no happy ending, no love story, tent-pole horror. It is just a tough sell. With the lackluster success of SPLICE, it makes it even a harder sell, in my opinion.

FRANKENSTEIN
This could happen. I don't know where the script is at, but I know this is a project that GDT is passionate about and they've already starting testing makeup on Doug Jones (G's monster of choice).

SATURN AND THE END OF DAYS
One of GDT's pet Spanish language projects, like PAN'S LABYRINTH. The script isn't ready yet, so count this out.

DROOD, JEKYLL & HYDE, SLAUGHTERHOUSE 5
I'm not hearing much buzz on these, so I'm not sure there is a script ready here.

LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS
This is Guillermo's fantasy western based on the Count of Monte Cristo. He shelved this script around 2002 because there were multiple Monte Cristo movies. But GDT loves this script and I would consider this a dark horse favorite. GDT mentioned in an interview that his next project will likely be something that they started development on 15 years ago. DARKNESS is right in that timeframe.

MEPHISTO'S BRIDGE
A script GDT wrote based on a book by Christopher Fowler entitled SPANKY, about a man who makes a deal with a demon. This is another dark horse pick, because this is a project that he worked on some time ago.

So, again, here is my top 3 ranked "most likely" picks for "What Next?"

1. An Unknown Project - my gut is that we will hear an announcement at this year's SDCC on something that is a complete surprise. Just like THE HOBBIT.

2. FRANKENSTEIN - this is my second favorite because this is a project G loves and it is a marketable project by studios.

3. LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS - it meets the qualifications for a lot of hints Guillermo has been throwing around. Would love to see this project happen.

Stay tuned folks...

The Left Hand of Darkness

Thanks to an MTV blog posted recently, there has been a small stir on the internet about Guillermo's "Count of Monte Cristo" project entitled THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS. Guillermo has talked about this project on more than one occassion, so I thought I would bring everyone up to speed here.

Guillermo wrote this screenplay between 1993 and 1998 with Kit Carson and Matthew Robbins. (Robbins co-wrote the MIMIC screenplay with Del Toro). It was originally entitled MONTECRISTO, and of course is based on the famed novel by Alexandre Dumas.

GDT wrote the story as a "Gothic-western". It was written during a time when GDT's father was kidnapped and held for ransom, and Guillermo has described this screenplay has having "a lot of rage." He has described the film as being technically challenging, most recently in a 2008 interview with Den of Geek:

I think that’s a movie that still bugs me a little bit. I mean, when you ask me if I’m scared of The Hobbit, I’m not, I’m more scared of Left Hand Of Darkness, because it’s a movie that I’m very, very proud of the screenplay, but it requires a set of tools that are a little daunting. It’s sort of like a David Lean, Sergio Leone epic western. Very much full of magic. And it’s the only movie without any creatures."

In 2002, Guillermo gave a French magazine some great details on the film (as reported by AintItCool News):

"It's a very gothic adaptation of the book. I've always thought that Dumas (the author of the book) wanted to evoke the spirit of the "1001 nights", his fascination for the Orient. Each adaptation was an adventure film or a classic movie without any invention, exoticism. So I wondered what would give this book adapted as a western(...). In the book, the Count is often mentioned as a "pirate", a "vampire", a "thief". He's very dark. And in my adaptation, the Count only goes out at nights. He's very close to a Dracula coming from a western, all dressed in black, red and gold. He has a mechanical arm that allows him to draw his gun faster than every one (...). Monte Cristo will be a very catholic movie (...)."

DARKNESS is considered by Guillermo to be one of his pet projects, along with AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS. And, like ATMOM, the timing just hasn't been quite right in getting it made. In 2002, Kevin Reynolds directed a film version starring Jim Caviezel. Now, with the epic HOBBIT going into production, and other commitments to Universal, the fate of this project is still unknown.