Created and executive produced by Guillermo del Toro, the anthology series Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities made its debut on the Netflix streaming service last month, the first season of the show consisting of eight episodes that were directed by the likes of Vincenzo Natali (Cube), Guillermo Navarro (Godfather of Harlem), David Prior (The Empty Man), Ana Lily Amirpour (A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night), Keith Thomas (The Vigil), Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen), Panos Cosmatos (Mandy), and Jennifer Kent (The Babadook). Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities hasn’t yet been renewed for another season, but del Toro has a list of directors he wants to work with on season 2 if it happens. During an interview with IndieWire, he revealed some of the names that are on that list.
Del Toro said, “I have a list. For example, we tried to get Jayro Bustamente before and he couldn’t because of COVID. When you think about Mexican filmmakers, there’s Issa Lopez. She was going to direct one of the episodes when she got True Detective and she couldn’t do it. Boots Riley wrote and was going to direct one episode and he got his series greenlit. I could go and spoil the entire second season for you, but I’m not going to do that. Larry Fessenden is one hundred percent at the very very top of my list for a second season. Larry is one of those names that back in the days of the Spirit Awards I fought for him to be nominated with Habit, which I think is phenomenal. I’ve been in touch with him since then. We were very close to remaking The Orphanage.“
Jayro Bustamante’s previous directing credits include the 2019 horror movie La Llorona. Issa Lopez is best known for Tigers Are Not Afraid. Boots Riley directed the 2018 film Sorry to Bother You. Larry Fessenden has directed several films including, as del Toro mentioned, Habit.
Del Toro said he enjoys using the anthology format to be able to support multiple fellow filmmakers at once. “We created an arena where we basically said, look, you have full control. Even if you disagree with me, you can disagree with me, but I’m going to give you every possible support so you can create with one hour in ideal conditions. I enjoy that role because some of the filmmakers had less than optimal experiences; others were obscure filmmakers to some degree. Look, I’m 58 and I have a 30 year career. It’s a miracle that you can last three decades as a storyteller. If I can do something to usher in a variation of the genre, I like it. It was absolute madness to make this series.“
Will the madness continue for Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities season 2? We’ll have to wait and see. In the meantime, let us know what you thought of season 1 by leaving a comment below.