The forum at TheOneRing.net — which just seems like a such an intensely dorky place that it can literally turn you back into a virgin — had a post today from “The Hobbit”/”The Hobbit 2: Island of Lost Dreams” director Guillermo del Toro which mysteriously confirmed a new project from the corpulent Mexican director.
” In a few days there will be a BIG announcement (big for me, at least) that is not-‘Hobbit’ related,” del Toro apparently wrote himself. “BEFORE anyone starts wondering the usual ‘how does he have time?, Is this detracting from The Hobbit’ etc. It is a project that started over 2 years ago, before ‘The Hobbit and’ will render fruits in the mid-term, not intruding on my Hobbit duties. Rest assured.” [Ed. Note: Whew. Saved us some sleepless nights.] “The key letter is ‘D1’.”
The good folks over at /film seem to think that he’s referring to his adaptation of D.C. Comics character “Deadman,” over at Warner Bros. While this is a fair guess, a director has been assigned to the project (Nikolaj Arcel, whoever that is) and its fairly public knowledge, so there’s no need for Guillermo to be cryptic.
Looking at his upcoming slate, there are more than a few projects that involve the letter “D,” and that’s not including the remake of television movie “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark,” which del Toro co-wrote (with frequent collaborator Matthew Robbins) and produced (That one stars Katie Holmes and Guy Pearce).
Some more D-centered projects Guillermo is cooking up:
“Drood” – Guillermo snapped up the rights to the outstanding Dan Simmons novel, published earlier this year, that follows narrator Wilkie Collins as he tries to uncover the secret surrounding fellow novelist and close friend Charles Dickens’ final work, “The Mystery of Edwin Drood.” This is a rip-snorting literary thriller/horror yarn, and while we can’t wait for del Toro to get his hands on this, well, we’re going to have to. There’s no way he can launch a historical epic and a fantastical Tolkien yarn at the same time.
“Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” – He is also set to put his stamp on an appropriately period version of “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.” He recently told the BBC about his particular angle on the man/monster combo. “For Jekyll and Hyde I have a very interesting take. It’s quite perverse… the fact that Jekyll becomes addicted in a joyful and liberating way to becoming Mr. Hyde. Jekyll becomes addicted to Hyde.” Sounds pretty awesome.
“Dr. Strange” – On the other side of the comic book aisle is a proposed adaptation of Marvel superhero Dr. Strange, which sounds even less likely after last week’s buyout of Marvel by Disney. (If this does happen, then may we suggest Brian K. Vaughn’s “Dr. Strange” tale “The Oath” for a perfect gateway story for both hardcore fans and newbies alike?)
In conclusion: We have no fucking clue what this mystery project is, but it would be nice to have one esoteric Guillermo del Toro movie before he devolves into big budget hackdom for the next few years. (We know its sacrilegious to say he’s spinning his wheels with this “Hobbit” nonsense, but he really, really is. We’ve turned off that part of our brain that’s interested in “Lord of the Rings”-related projects.) – Drew Taylor [via Flavorwire via /film]
In related news good for ‘LOTR’ fans, the lawsuit between The Tolkien Trust, New Line and HarperCollins over gross profit participation on ‘LOTR’ has been settled leaving a smooth path for “The Hobbit” to commence safely.
