We recently learned that Guillermo del Toro is finally directing the Pinocchio animated film he had been trying to get off the ground for many years (that’s the power of an Oscar win), which had been only one of MANY unproduced Del Toro projects over the years. The visionary filmmaker has been attached to countless projects that sadly never got off the ground.
Over on Twitter this morning, Del Toro tweeted out a complete list of the screenplays he has developed, fully written or co-written that have gone unproduced (so far).
He tweeted, “The thing is- each script takes about a year, so – more than a decade of work lost (in the case of Mountains, much more, since we scouted and designed etc).”
“Mountains” is of course At the Mountains of Madness, a Lovecraft adaptation that both WB and Universal never gave the green light to. Other projects on the list include a new adaptation of The Witches, a far different version of Pacific Rim 2, and Del Toro’s The Haunted Mansion.
Pinocchio is finally happening, so we’ll never say “never” when it comes to some of these. And in the wake of The Shape of Water, we’re thinking studios probably want Del Toro now more than ever. So to any studio heads who might be reading this right now, take your pick:
1/2 SCREENPLAYS I have developed, fully written or co-written that have gone unproduced (so far):
THE WITCHES, JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS, FANTASTIC VOYAGE, THE COUNT OF MONTECRISTO, MEPHISTO’S BRIDGE, PACIFIC RIM 2 (very different),— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) November 26, 2018
2/2 SECRET PROJECT (UNTITLED), SUPERSTITIOUS, NIGHTMARE ALLEY, HAUNTED MANSION, THE HULK pilot, THE BURIED GIANT, THE COFFIN, DROOD, LIST OF 7 (Mark Frost) and a few others…
— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) November 26, 2018
Oh, and WIND IN THE WILLOWS (which I loved)
— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) November 26, 2018
The thing is- each script takes about a year, so- more than a decade of work lost (in the case of mountains, much more, since we scoiuted and designed etc)
— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) November 26, 2018
To be clear these screenplays are WRITTEN, done. Each of them took months or years of my life. Meetings, synopsis, beat sheets and were all written, features- 90-130 pages each.
— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) November 26, 2018