Guillermo Del Toro was on hand in LA a few nights ago to ring in the Academy’s Monstrous Centennial: Universal’s Legacy of Horror film series and show off newly-restored prints of Bride of Frankenstein and Dracula. Shock Til You Drop brought up the topic of Del Toro’s own Frankenstein adaptation that was thought to be shelved. But as we learn from the man himself, it ain’t:
Donna Langley just put us on track to write the screenplay. So, we’re going to start writing the script. It’s a very long endeavor for me; it’s going to require a couple of years just to write it. But it’s been put back on track by Donna.
… that also means that I’ve been avoiding it in a cowardly way for many years. [Laughs.] It’s something that I’ve been… not quite so much reticent about as I’ve been mindful and cautious. But borderline avoiding. Because I really think it’s going to be the one movie that I feel is gonna signify [me] more than any other in my life.
Del Toro handles so many projects (he’s still overseeing the much-discussed Hulk pilot at ABC) that it’s actually a breath of fresh air when one finally comes together. I hate thinking what we missed out on with At the Mountains of Madness falling apart, but he talks about Frankenstein much the same way: passion project. In the face of the announcement that Len Wiseman will be directing a Mummy reboot (which I’m suspicious will see Imhotep resurrected by nanobots) it’s reassuring to hear that at least one of Universal’s stock will still be handled with care. That is, if Del Toro ever finds the time to make the damn thing.
What do you think? Will we ever see a Guillermo Del Toro-directed Frankenstein? If so, what shape do you think such a film will take?