That didn't take long! It was just a few weeks ago when the disappointing news came in that Benedict Cumberbatch would be leaving Legendary Pictures and Guillermo del Toro's CRIMSON PEAK. Now, Deadline reports that THE AVENGERS' Tom Hiddleston will join the film as Cumberbatch's replacement. Not bad, del Toro, not bad at all! Hiddleston is no doubt a solid addition to the cast of CRIMSON PEAK which stars Charlie Hunnam, Mia Wasikowska, and Jessica Chastain (below). I guess if you ever have to replace someone like Cumberbatch, it might as well be with Loki!
Here's del Toro's very own words on the upcoming ghost story:
It’s the turn of the century. So it’s at the turn of the century and half of the movie takes place in America, and the other half takes place in a crumbling mansion in Cumbria. And basically it’s a ghost story and gothic romance, trying to subvert the rules of the usual gothic romance. It’s very much… the first half is a love story, then that love story turns darker. And it’s at the same time a ghost story. I’m working at this moment with Lucinda Clarkson who is a really great playwright from the UK. She has the proper degree of perversity and intelligence to turn it into something interesting to watch. It’s sort of a very compelling version of the classic gothic romance, where you have the spookiness and the windswept landscape that dooms the characters, you know?
There are still no details on the story but del Toro did say that he wants CRIMSON PEAK to feel like and old school horror film saying, "I’ve always tried to make big-sized horror movies like the ones I grew up watching… Films like The Omen, The Exorcist and The Shining, the latter of which is another Mount Everest of the haunted house movie. I loved the way that Kubrick had such control over the big sets he used, and how much big production value there was. I think people are getting used to horror subjects done as found footage or B-value budgets. I wanted this to feel like a throwback." Bring it on!
Right now del Toro is gearing up to shoot the pilot for his upcoming FX series "The Strain" before starting production on CRIMSON PEAK next year.