Guillermo del Toro is a very busy man. We recently learned that he will be doing a small black and white film prior to shooting PACIFIC RIM 2 for an April 7, 2017 release date, while also developing an animated PACIFIC RIM series. He’s also got the upcoming FX series "The Strain" headed our way this summer, and it seems as if his long-awaited passion project AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS may finally happen, but as a toned-down PG-13 film. But that doesn't mean we won't see his original vision for AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS as del Toro has shared with Collider his plans for an unrated version to possibly be released simultaneously as the PG-13 cut.
When asked about the chances of an unrated cut of his AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS hitting Blu-ray after the initial PG-13 theatrical run, del Toro was quick to reply that he’s not only considering that option for Blu-ray, but for a simultaneous theatrical release as well, sharing…
“That’s actually exactly what I’m thinking. The way I’m thinking is, PG-13 goes a long way. It’s not that the novel is graphic, but people forget that there are crucial elements in the novel that are pretty horrific. Like the human autopsy, you know? I think that’s a dark moment. So what I would like to do is shoot it, as dark as it is, in an unrated cut and a PG-13 cut. Ideally they would be released simultaneously if that’s at all possible. We could release one [cut] in a certain format and the other in a different format with the hopes that we can offer more intense moments in one cut and equally intense moments but without graphic content in the other cut. Lovecraft was famous for suggestion, and a lot of the piece can suggest, but there are [certain moments] you need to show. Part of it is budget, part of it is rating. The one thing I’ll say is that at this stage for me, Mountains is not made. So I’d rather make it in a way that doesn’t compromise the content, or not do it. And, in the last few years, what has changed is that I’ve seen PG-13 films that are very intense. For me Life of Pi, the first 25 minutes of that movie were really very intense with the violence on the boat and the sinking. I came to think, “you know what? It is possible to go to places that are intense but still have a strong appeal for a rating.” That, I think, is the main thing that changed.”
del Toro goes on to share that he's not certain AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS will follow his work on PACIFIC RIM 2, but he's hopeful:
“The only thing I know is that I have two studios that like the project very much, which is Universal and Legendary. Legendary came very close to financing and Universal came famously close to financing and we were very much getting there. So I think that there’s a chance we’re still keeping it alive. What normally happens is I have stacks and stacks of beautiful designs. I have 30, 40, 50 pieces of key art. I have maquettes. I have concept art. I have hundreds of storyboards. And of all the things that have gone undone so far, the one that I would most like to share with the world is Mountains.”
And of all the projects del Toro has in the pipeline, the one I'd most like to see is AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS, so I'm hoping that he can get it going this time, preferably sooner rather than later.
More on del Toro's many projects as we hear it!