We first heard about a movie based on Alvin Schwartz‘s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark horror book series back in 2013, with Saw writers Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan working on the project. We then heard in 2014 that John August, a writer on Tim Burton’s Big Fish, Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Dark Shadows, and Frankenweenie, was hired to work on the script.

If you grew up reading the books, you know how awesome the movie (or movies) could be if done right. Especially if you read the books with the unforgettable nightmare fuel illustrations of artist Stephen Gammell before new illustrations were used for the 30th anniversary editions released in 2011. Now the project gets even more exciting. It’s being reported that Guillermo del Toro, the visionary director behind The Devil’s Backbone, Pan’s Labyrinth, Pacific Rim, Hellboy, Blade II, Crimson Peak, and more has jumped on board to develop the movie with a possibility of even directing it himself.

Del Toro will develop the project for CBS Films with the potential to direct based on August’s script. In addition to possibly directing Scary Stories, del Toro will also produce the movie along with Sean Daniel, Jason Brown, and Elizabeth Grave.

Whether or not he’ll actually direct is a really big if. Del Toro, as usual, has a bunch of projects lined up he could do next, including Pacific Rim 2, Fantastic Voyage, the vampire flick Silver, and more. He’s also got producing duties, such as the newly announced Netflix series based on his own book Trollhunters.

All of that said, it would make lots of sense for del Toro to take on Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. Not only does his style fit something like this perfectly, but he’s also just as big a fan of the original books as the rest of us, and even owns a collection of Gammell’s original illustrations.

If del Toro does ultimately make the movie, hopefully it’s a smaller practical effects type project like Krampus instead of a big budget CGI-filled flick.

Del Toro has already spoke about the project on Twitter as well:

I start development on a film based on a favorite book of youth: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark! pic.twitter.com/yu31FkCz4K

— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) January 14, 2016

To answer some questions on Scary Stories- of course we WILL have Stephen Gammell's imagery be preeminent on the film! Yeah!!

— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) January 14, 2016

[Source: Deadline]