First he giveth and then he taketh away. Just a couple of weeks after delighting with the news of PACIFIC RIM 2, visionary director (as the trailers say) Guillermo Del Toro has been speaking on some of his upcoming projects including Disney’s THE HAUNTED MANSION while simultaneously shooting down hopes for a trilogy concluding HELLBOY 3. Del Toro has been pushing the TV adaptation of his novel The Strain recently, which is one of the worst books I’ve read in recent years, while also getting us hyped for his horror tale CRIMSON PEAK. Before jumping into the world of PACIFIC RIM yet again, he will reportedly deliver a low budget black and white film, and all this while developing Disney’s THE HAUNTED MANSION.
While taking questions on Reddit AMA, del Toro answered queries about completing his tke on Mike Mignola’s comic book creation.
Well, you know, we don’t have [HELLBOY 3] 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 best 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.
Well if that ain’t just a kick in the knickers. Hopefully it’s just a cunning ruse to get fans angry enough to show their passion and push those involved into giving the big red meanie the send-off he deserves. Meanwhile, del Toro also spoke about developing THE HAUNTED MANSION for Disney, which doesn’t sound as though it will be a remake of the Eddie Murphy film of the same name.
Well, I spent 2 weeks ago, I went back to Disneyland with the executives with whom I am developing the screenplay. It’s a hard screenplay to crack. We’ve done it a few times. We are on our third or fourth draft, with 2 different writing teams, and I think the main thing is to try to combine everything that is great about the ride into the movie, and to make it a really intense but with a sense of fun – just like the ride. It’s a tough balance, and I would be happy to report if we had the screenplay. We always feel like we are very close, but not yet. We have developed 50-60 pieces of art, We’ve developed maquettes of the Hat Box Ghost, over the body and face of Doug Jones, but we have not succeeded yet in cracking the screenplay. I have to believe that Disney will make this movie as soon as we crack the screenplay, but until then we cannot tackle it.
Del Toro is of course one of the busiest men in the industry, producing upcoming animated films and horror films as well as developing TV shows such as the much discussed The Incredible Hulk (which may or may not be happening). Let’s hope Hellboy will make a return to the screen though, even if recasting and a new director are needed.
Source: Reddit
