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Guillermo del Toro Wants Benedict Cumberbatch For ‘Frankenstein’; Working On ‘Slaughterhouse-Five’ With Charlie Kaufman
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Benedict Cumberbatch as Frankenstein

It’s no secret that writer/director/producer Guillermo del Toro is always one of the busiest guys working in movies. Constantly (or so it feels) we’re hearing about a new project he’s developing, or getting an update on one of the many things he’s been developing over the years. Today comes word on the latter.

Del Toro has Pacific Rim coming out soon, which will hopefully be bathing in piles of money so immense they dwarf the creatures he put on the screen in that movie. After that is Crimson Peak, the ghost movie with a strong cast he plans to begin filming in February of 2014.

But what about a pair of movies del Toro has been developing for a long time now, a new take on the tale of Frankenstein and an adaptation of the Kurt Vonnegut’s classic, Slaughterhouse-Five? He has plans for both of those very much in progress.

Speaking to The Telegraph, it was revealed that del Toro’s current goal is to have one of his Crimson Peak stars, Benedict Cumberbatch, take on Frankenstein with him. Back in 2009 it looked like Doug Jones, who’s played multiple make-up-heavy characters for the director in the past, was set to take on the movie monster icon. But this new plan would also make lots of sense, as well. Cumberbatch is a fast-rising star, helped greatly by his work as the villain in J.J. Abrams’ recent mega-sequel Star Trek Into Darkness, and the actor has already played both Frankenstein and Dr. Victor Frankenstein in a stage production of the story by Danny Boyle.

As for Slaughterhouse-Five, del Toro has reached out to one of the best screenwriters out there, Charlie Kaufman. Kaufman won an Oscar for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and was nominated for both Adaptation and Being John Malkovich.

Here’s what del Toro had to say about Kaufman:

“Charlie [Kaufman] and I talked for about an hour-and-a-half and came up with a perfect way of doing the book. I love the idea of the Trafalmadorians [the aliens of ‘Slaughterhouse-Five’] — to be ‘unstuck in time,’ where everything is happening at the same time. And that’s what I want to do. It’s just a catch-22. The studio will make it when it”s my next movie, but how can I commit to it being my next movie until there’s a screenplay? Charlie Kaufman is a very expensive writer!”

Then he added “I’ll work it out.”

Let’s not forget that Kaufman was brought in to do some touch ups on the Kung Fu Panda 2 script for DreamWorks, who also happens to have del Toro working as a producer and consultant on numerous projects, including Megamind, Puss in Boots, Rise of the Guardians, and Kung Fu Panda 2 and Kung Fu Panda 3.

Then of course there is the not so exciting news. Most people are still pretty heated at Universal Pictures for not letting del Toro make his dream project, the massive, R-rated H.P. Lovecraft adaptation, At the Mountains of Madness. Del Toro is still shopping that project around to other studios (which is one of the reasons Pacific Rim needs to make so much coin—go see it 37 times!), but both Frankenstein and Slaughterhouse-Five are also set up at Universal, so who knows what will happen.

Which of del Toro’s projects to you want to see happen most? Frankenstein with Benedict Cumberbatch? A Slaughterhouse-Five movie written by Charlie Kaufman? His take on At the Mountains of Madness? Or is it something else entirely?

[Source: via The Playlist]

1 Comment »

  1. Easy: At the Mountains of Madness. Del Toro getting the reins of the first, huge H.P. Lovecraft film adaptation dwarfs all other potential projects.

    Comment by Micah Thomas — July 9, 2013 @ 5:21 pm

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