Del Toro to direct "Frankenstein"

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Del Toro to Resurrect Frankenstein
Helmer also talks Potter and The Hobbit!
by Orlando Parfitt, IGN UK

UK, January 4, 2008 - Guillermo del Toro - visionary director of Hellboy and Pan's Labyrinth - is apparently planning a movie version of Mary Shelly's monster classic Frankenstein.

The rotund Mexican helmer told MTV News he's in planning the "definitive take" on the spooky tale, and revealed that he's already begun pre-production duties and is crafting several drawings. "I started doing some notes before the strike," he revealed. "[During the strike] I can only draw now."

Apparently he's always been interested in directing a version of Frankenstein. He explained: "The only way to do the Shelley novel is to actually do a four-hour miniseries, but I think there are permutations in which you can tell the myth in a different way."

Tantalisingly, del Toro also spoke about possibly directing fanboy heavyweights The Hobbit and the final Harry Potter film.


- John Shearer/WireImage.com We love Guillermo del Toro.
The director's name has already been mentioned for the last hurrah of the bespectacled boy-wizard, and he did nothing to quash speculation by saying he was "definitely interested" in the project and that he enjoys the darker tone of the recent movies, saying "after Alfonso Cuaron directed Prisoner of Azkaban, the movies have evolved greatly into a very nice universe to play at (in)." He also said how ****ensian he feels the Harry Potter series is, and said the last line of Deathly Hallows was a "beautiful, subdued way" to end the book.

Regarding The Hobbit meanwhile, del Toro revealed he's heard rumblings, but nothing concrete. He said: "I keep an open mind, but nothing is official." Peter Jackson is on-board as producer for two Hobbit movies, though the Oscar-winning New Zealander has stated he won't direct the Tolkien-penned prequels.

Going back to Frankenstein, assuming the project does ever see the light of day, don't expect it any time soon. The Mexican helmer already has several projects on the go, including the H.P. Lovecraft adaptation At the Mountains of Madness, spooky Spanish-set horror film 3993 and possibly a Tarzan re-make.

His latest effort, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, is set for release on 11 July in the U.S. and 22 August in the U.K.

This is right up his alley. Frankenstein is one of my favorite books, it'll be nice to see a definitive version, especially one done by Del Toro. I really can't get enough of this guys work.