Guillermo del Toro Gives an Update on AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS - “It’s Too Big, Too Crazy, Too R-Rated” for Hollywood
Hollywood is filled with stories of passion projects that spend years stuck in development hell before finally hitting the screen. James Cameron tinkered with Avatar for over a decade before its 2009 release, and George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road was famously in limbo for years.
But when it comes to long-lost dream projects, few filmmakers have as many as Guillermo del Toro. His list of unrealized films is so massive it even has its own Wikipedia page.
Now, the Oscar-winning filmmaker has given a bittersweet update on one of the most infamous of them all, his long-planned adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s At The ountains of Madness.
Speaking with Empire about his upcoming Frankenstein, which debuts on Netflix in a few weeks, del Toro revealed that the film and his stop-motion Pinocchio were two projects that had always been at the very top of his “all-time bucket list.”
Only one remains unchecked with At the Mountains of Madness. And sadly, del Toro doesn’t think it will ever happen.
“The one that’s on the bucket list that I think is gonna stay there is Mountains. It’s too big, too crazy, too R-rated, I guess. And to be completely candid, I don’t know that I want to do it after this.”
For del Toro, part of the reason for closing the door on the project comes from reflecting on his creative journey as a filmmaker. He added:
“This film closes the cycle. If you look at the lineage, from Cronos to The Devil’s Backbone, to Pan’s Labyrinth to Crimson Peak to (Frankenstein), this is an evolution of a certain type of aesthetic, and a certain type of rhythm, and a certain type of empathy. I feel like I need a change.”
Originally published in 1936, Lovecraft’s novella follows an Antarctic expedition from Miskatonic University that uncovers long-buried secrets in the ice, including monstrous creatures and the remains of an ancient alien race older than humanity itself.
It’s one of the author’s most ambitious tales, and exactly the kind of cosmic horror that seems tailor-made for del Toro’s dark imagination.
Del Toro has been chasing At the Mountains of Madness since the early 2000s, with the project bouncing between Warner Bros. and Universal over the years.
At one point, Tom Cruise was even attached to star. When del Toro signed his first-look deal with Netflix, he confirmed it was one of the first projects he pitched to them. But like every attempt before, the same problem always loomed large: the movie’s cost.
Between massive practical effects, large-scale sets, and heavy visual effects, the film would need a blockbuster budget north of $100 million. Combine that with a guaranteed R rating and limited box office potential, and the project has always been a tough sell for studios.
Fans got their closest glimpse of what could have been when del Toro released a VFX test reel a few years back, showing off the kind of nightmarish creatures the movie would have unleashed. For horror fans, it was a tantalizing reminder of just how close the film once was.
While At the Mountains of Madness may never make it to the big screen, del Toro has suggested that he might one day release the wealth of concept art and development material created during its long gestation. That means even if the film never escapes development hell, fans could still get a detailed look at what might have been.
So while At the Mountains of Madness may remain buried in the ice, del Toro is closing one chapter of his career with Frankenstein and preparing to open a new one.