Guillermo del Toro is a busy a man as of late, and that's only going to benefit us in the end. Currently, he's in post-production on his haunted house flick CRIMSON PEAK, which stars Charlie Hunnam, Tom Hiddleston, and Jessica Chastain. While it was initially set for an April 2015 release, it looks like it may have been pushed back to October 16, 2015 to take advantage of the Halloween season. Meanwhile, we know Guillermo will be gearing up to go into pre-production for PACIFIC RIM 2 this fall, and possibly shooting a small black and white film before actual production on RIM 2 starts! Whew!
So where does that leave AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS? If you recall, del Toro was all set to shoot this R-rated endeavor with Tom Cruise in the lead. In the end, the studio coudldn't justify spending so much money on a product they couldn't market to teens and del Toro backed off, not wanting to compromise his vision. Del Toro hasn't forgotten though, and it's possible he may have found a compromise that will fit everyone's needs.
In regards to whether or not that cut will be PG-13 or R:
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 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.
As far as when he might shoot MOUNTAINS:
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.
It's easy to see del Toro's passion in every film he makes, so I'm happy that he's still on board to give us a MOUNTAINS film. Either way, Guillermo undoubtedly would have garnered some serious box office success if he waited around to direct those Hobbit films, but he followed is heart and that lead him to what we'll be seeing within the next 3 or so years, which I can't help but respect.
CRIMSON PEAK is scheduled for an October 16, 2015 release.