Guillermo del Toro's unrealized projects

The following is a list of unproduced Guillermo del Toro projects in roughly chronological order. During his long career, Mexican film director Guillermo del Toro has worked on a number of projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under his direction. Some of these projects, fell in development hell and are presumably canceled.

1990s

The Sandkings

Around 1995, before directing Mimic, del Toro approached to George R. R. Martin to make a film adaptation of his famous novelette Sandkings,^[1] but the project was soon scrapped after the novel was adapted into the first episode of the revival series of The Outer Limits.

Domu: A Child's Dream

In the late 1990s, del Toro expressed his interest in direct a live-action film adaptation of Katsuhiro Otomo's Domu: A Child's Dream. However, in 2002, after the success of Blade II, del Toro stated that he tried to make the film during years, but the efforts have been hamstrung by international legalities, and he said:

"God damn it, we haven't even got the rights. We've been negotiating the rights for four years. Which goes to prove Japanese lawyers are even more complex than American lawyers. The moment we have the rights I would go ahead and write it".^[2]

2000s

Blade 3

Around 2003, New Line Cinema was in talks with del Toro for keep him as director for Blade 3, due his good work as director in Blade II, but del Toro refused to direct it for direct Hellboy.^[3] The film ended up becoming the critically panned Blade: Trinity, directed by the Blade film trilogy screenwriter David S. Goyer and released in 2004.

The Wind in the Willows

In 2003, del Toro reported that he was working with The Walt Disney Company in an animated feature film adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's novel The Wind in the Willows. The film would have been animated via CGI animation, but the project was cancelled and abandoned due many delays.^[4]

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

In 2003, del Toro was in talks to direct Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the third installment of the Harry Potter film series and based on J. K. Rowlings' novel of the same name.^[5] However, del Toro chose to direct Hellboy and the film was finally directed by del Toro's fellow film partner Alfonso Cuarón and released in 2004.

I Am Legend

On September 13, 2005, Warner Bros. approached to del Toro for hire him as the director of the third film adaptation of Richard Matheson's novel I Am Legend.^[6] However, del Toro chose to direct Hellboy II: The Golden Army.

Tarzan

On December 15, 2006, ComingSoon.net reported that del Toro was in talks to direct a Tarzan film.^[7] However, Slashfilm.com reported on September 2, 2008 that Stephen Sommers had replaced del Toro as the director.^[8] The film was finally released in 2016 under the title of The Legend of Tarzan and directed by David Yates.^[9]

3993

On November 8, 2007, ComingSoon.net reported that del Toro was working on a sequel to Pan's Labyrinth, entitled 3993, planned to being the third and final installment of the Spanish Civil War film trilogy.^[10] However, del Toro scrapped the project after deciding to direct Hellboy II: The Golden Army.

The Adventures of Pinocchio

Around 2008, Slashfilm.com reported that del Toro was working on a stop-motion film based on the Italian novel The Adventures of Pinocchio, co-directed by Adam Parrish King, with The Jim Henson Company as production company, and music by Nick Cave.^[11] The pre-production was begun by the ShadowMachine studio. However, it was in production during three years, and is now in development hell.

Halo

On February 8, 2008, Wayback Machine reported that del Toro was in talks to direct a film adaptation of the Halo video game series.^[12] However, he chose to focus more in The Hobbit film trilogy.

The Hobbit

In April 2008, it was reported by Wayback Machine that del Toro was hired to direct The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and its sequels, based on the J.R.R. Tolkien's novel trilogy of the same name.^[13] However, in 2010, del Toro left the project due to constant delays.^[14][15] Finally the three films were directed by The Lord of the Rings film trilogy director Peter Jackson and released in 2012, 2013 and 2014 respectively; although del Toro collaborated writing the screenplays.

Hater

On May 20, 2008, del Toro revealed that he was attached to produce the film adaptation of the novel Hater by David Moody.^[16] However, any update was made after this announcement, implying the project's possible cancellation.

Hellboy III

On July 10, 2008, del Toro expressed his interest in direct a third Hellboy film, although he stated that he would work in the film after finishing his work in The Hobbit film trilogy.^[17] In 2010, during the production of the unmade At the Mountain of Madness, del Toro mentioned that he could direct Hellboy III after his next project, although the script wasn't written.^[18] However, on July 8, 2013, del Toro said that the film was unlikely to be released, and suggested the possibility of tell its story in a comic book form, but Hellboy creator Mike Mignola refused to accept the idea.^[19]

On July 11, 2014, in a Reddit AMA, del Toro stated "Well, you know, we don't have that movie on the horizon, but the idea for it was to have Hellboy finally come to terms with the fact that his destiny, his inevitable destiny, is to become the beast of the Apocalypse, and having him and Liz face the sort of, that part of his nature, and he has to do it, in order to be able to ironically vanquish the foe that he has to face in the 3rd film. He has to become the beast of the Apocalypse to be able to defend humanity, but at the same time he becomes a much darker being. It's a very interesting ending to the series, but I don't think it will happen. ... We have gone through basically every studio and asked for financing, and they are not interested. I think that the first movie made its budget back, and a little bit of profit, but then it was very very big on video and DVD. The story repeated itself with the second already, it made its money back at the box office, but a small margin of profit in the release of the theatrical print, but was very very big on DVD and video. Sadly now from a business point of view all the studios know is that you don't have that safety net of the DVD and video, so they view the project as dangerous."^[20] On September 26, 2016, ScreenGeek.net revealed that Ron Perlman stated in his Twitter account that he was working on a new Hellboy film, but that del Toro was unlikely to return.^[21]

The Witches

On December 1, 2008, del Toro expressed interest in make, along his fellow film partner Alfonso Cuarón, a stop-motion film remake to Roald Dahl's novel The Witches.^[22] However, any update of this project has been made since the announcement.

2010s

Drood

On June 1, 2010, MTV News reported that del Toro was attached to direct a film adaptation Dan Simmons' novel of the same name for Universal Pictures.^[23] However, the project fell in development hell and del Toro abandoned it over time.

Untitled Van Helsing project

On June 10, 2010, del Toro stated that he was working on an untitled film about Van Helsing,^[24] but the project never materialized.

At the Mountains of Madness

On July 28, 2010, it was announced that del Toro would direct a film adaptation of H. P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness for Universal Pictures, with Canadian film director James Cameron as producer. The movie was originally set up as a project at DreamWorks in 2004, but it was cancelled.^[25] Just a month earlier, del Toro said that the Lovecraft adaptation probably would not happen at all; "It doesn't look like I can do it. It's very difficult for the studios to take the step of doing a period-set, R-rated, tentpole movie with a tough ending and no love story. Lovecraft has a readership as big as any best-seller, but it's tough to quantify because his works are in the public domain." Not long after, he was approached by Cameron who asked him if he still wanted to do the movie. When del Toro confirmed he did, Cameron said “Let’s do it.” Both of them put forward the idea for Universal, which then greenlit it.^[26] Earlier the same year, del Toro also asked S. T. Joshi if he wanted to be a consultant if and when the movie got into motion.^[27] Guy Davis was attached to made designs. Despite this, it is likely that the project was abandoned, due del Toro's commitments to other projects and Cameron's interest in the sequels of Avatar.

Insane

On December 11, 2010, at the 2010 Spike Video Game Awards, del Toro reported that he was working on a video game entitled Insane, which was planned to be released in 2013.^[28] Two days later, del Toro revealed that Insane was intended to be the first entry of a Insane video game trilogy.^[29] On March 11, 2011, it was reported by Fanboy Confidential that Guy Davis, who previously worked in del Toro's unmade adaptation of At the Mountains of Madness, was working as a key designer.^[30] However, on August 16, 2012, IGN reported that the video game was cancelled by the publisher THQ.^[31] Despite this, three months later via IGN, del Toro stated that the game could still happen.^[32]

Beauty and the Beast

On July 18, 2011 it was reported that del Toro was going to developing a live-action film of the classic fabule Beauty and the Beast, with Emma Watson in talks of star as Belle on it and Denise Di Novi as co-producer.^[33] However, del Toro's adaptation never materialized, although Watson finally get the role of Belle in The Walt Disney Company's upcoming 2017 live-action remake.^[34]

Godzilla

On December 21, 2011, ComingSoon.net stated that del Toro was considered to direct a new film of Godzilla, but he refused to direct it.^[35] The film was finally released in 2014 and directed by Gareth Edwards.

The Bloody Benders

On April 27, 2012, Deadline.com reported that del Toro a biographical film about the serial killers the Bloody Benders.^[36] However, the project was likely abandoned due del Toro's commitments to other projects.

The Hulk

Around 2012, del Toro was in talks with Marvel Studios to make a TV series entitled The Hulk, being part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.The series was expected to be aired on ABC. However, after Mark Ruffalo's acclaimed performance as the Incredible Hulk in The Avengers, the project was put on hold,^[37] and entered in development hell.

Dark Universe

On January 15, 2013, del Toro confirmed his involvement in a live-action film adaptation of the Justice League Dark comic series.^[38] While the time in that Warner Bros. was considering in greenlight the film's production and reviewing the script, del Toro revealed that the working title was Dark Universe and that the film will feature the appearances of John Constantine, Swamp Thing, The Spectre, Deadman and others.^[39] In December 2014, one month after Warner Bros. reviewed his script, del Toro confirmed that the film would be part of the DC Extended Universe.^[40] Also, del Toro expressed interest in cast Matt Ryan as John Constantine, saying that the Constatine TV series could coexist with the DC Extended Universe, because he felt that it could work good,^[41] but the series was not renewed for a second season due poor ratings, scrapping the idea.^[42] In October 2015, it was officially reported that del Toro had left the project,^[43] although in August 2016, it was announced that Doug Liman will direct it.^[44]

Silent Hills

On August 12, 2014, Hero Complex reported that del Toro was working along game director Hideo Kojima in the PlayStation 4 video game Silent Hills, the ninth main installment in the Silent Hill video game series.^[45] However, on April 26, 2015, del Toro stated via IGN that he was no longer working with Kojima in Silent Hills and that the project was cancelled.^[46][47] Despite this, on July 24, del Toro stated via his Twitter account that him and Kojima were still working on an new untitled project.^[48] In an interview with Shacknews, del Toro expressed that he wouldn't be again get involved in video games after his past experiences, which he quotes;

“I have proven to be the albatross of video games. I joined THQ, and THQ goes broke. I join Kojima, and Kojima leaves Konami, because Metal Gear. I have decided, in order not to destroy anyone else’s life, I have decided I will never again get involved in video games. Otherwise, I’ll join someone and his house will explode, or something".^[49]

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