Guillermo del Toro will see you in 2017

It seems like not so long ago Guillermo del Toro was known as an understated genre child, a sign of life for horror as the genre dragged its feet through the neo-slasher craze. Early movies like Cronos and The Devil’s Backbone struck a brooding gothic rhythm that celebrated the old traditions of the genre with visual invention and genuine emotional edge.

A little movie called Pan's Labyrinth changed that, of course, and though del Toro’s interests don’t seem to have changed, his stage certainly has. A new Variety report has the filmmaker booked through 2017 (!) and possibly later, with the director’s versions of Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Slaughterhouse-Five and an adaptation of the forthcoming book Drood in development through a deal with Universal Pictures.

That’s not to mention a possible third installment of Hellboy, the del Toro-made franchise that Universal revived mostly because his name was attached, and an adaptation of At the Mountains of Madness, long among the director’s pipe dreams.

Universal’s pact with del Toro highlights the success the studio has had in courting the explosion of Mexican talent in Hollywood. Even so, the studio hasn’t quite finalized its death grip: del Toro jumped on board with MGM and Warner Bros. earlier this year to helm the Lord of the Rings prequel The Hobbit, which he’s currently writing with a team that includes another of his heavyweight contemporaries, Peter Jackson. Might it have been getting a little stuffy for him at Universal?

Nah, del Toro says. “No one expected ‘The Hobbit’ to come about. It was the most marvelous monkey wrench tossed into my life," he told Variety. "I consider (the new deals) the renewal of my marital vows with Universal.”

Fans of that franchise are stoked, but for all of our sakes, let’s hope the whimsical talent with a dark streak doesn’t work himself into the ground too soon.

Related links:
Review: Hellboy II
News: Guillermo del Toro directing The Hobbit: confirmed
News: Guillermo del Toro and Mark Johnson on board for Hater

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