Guillermo del Toro Has a Ton of Screenplays Lying Around, Here’s What We Know About Them

You ca n’t say Guillermo del Toro does n’t bed how to keep himself interfering . TheOscar - win directorrecently shared a list of screenplay projects he ’s worked on over the retiring decade that are still hold off to be develop , including a previously unknown labor and another that ’s still top - orphic . The list is massive , with at least a decennium ’s Charles Frederick Worth of storey , reminding us that there is a gem trove of astonishing del Toro content just implore to be taken on . So what ’s the delay ?

OnTwitter , del Toro shared a lean of screenplays he ’s develop , written , or co - indite over the year that have n’t been picked up for production . It ( mostly ) does n’t include ones that have since gone on without him , like his planned Doctor Strange or Hobbit films . Many of the project are over a decade honest-to-god now , though others wait to be newer ( like The Buried Giant ) . The list also confirms that del Toro has indeed been plan a remake of The Witches , something that was rumored earlier this yr … but has been reportedly in the work since 2008 .

come on the heel of the Oscar win andNetflix pluck upthe creator ’s long - await Pinocchio adaptation , it feels like we ’re on the leaflet of getting more of del Toro ’s pet task . At least , that ’s what we hope . Here are all the projects del Toro listed on Twitter and where they presently suffer ( and there are plenty more to be foundhere ):

Argentina’s President Javier Milei (left) and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., holding a chainsaw in a photo posted to Kennedy’s X account on May 27. 2025.

The Witches

Back in June , Varietyreportedthat Robert Zemeckis was team up with del Toro to produce an adaption of Roald Dahl ’s The Witches . The last we heard , del Toro and Zemeckis were in final negotiations with Warner Bros. Given how the moving-picture show is on this list , it ’s operose to say where it ’s at in maturation because there ’s been no news on this front late . Del Toro and Alfonso Cuarón have been working on this adaptation since at least 2008 , and the plan was to have it be astop - motion animated filmso it would n’t contend with the iconic adaptation starring Anjelica Huston aim by Nicolas Roeg ( who sadlyjust passed away at the eld of 90 ) .

Justice League Dark

rumour about del Toro ’s involvement in Justice League Dark startedback in 2012 , when the DC lengthened universe was just getting started . Del Toro muster in a script for the film , whichwould’ve starredSwamp Thing , the Demon , Constantine , and other iconic eccentric in a level explore the supernatural side of the DC universe . Doug Liman was attached to direct in 2016 , butleft one year later . There ’s no confirmed yield schedule for this moving-picture show , but at 2017’sSan Diego Comic - Conthe title was confirmed as Justice League Dark . Warner Bros. hasa plenty of possible films in the works , we can only hope it ’d be smart enough to go back to del Toro ’s version .

Beauty and the Beast

Before Emma Watson was purge to play Belle in Disney ’s springy - action remaking ofBeauty and the Beast , she was fix to star in a Warner Bros. adjustment anticipate Beauty . Del Toro wrote the handwriting and was also set to direct and produce , butstepped out of the theatre director ’s chairabruptly in 2014 , citing programming conflict . Watson was enter to Disney ’s version instead — andlast we heardin 2014 , Warner Bros. was denounce for a newfangled theater director .

At the Mountains of Madness

The directorannouncedback in 2008 that he was working on an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft ’s story At The Mountains of Madness , describing it as “ a National Geographic special on a crew that disappeared in an exploration missionary station . ” James Cameron wasstokedabout the project , coming on to produce the motion-picture show — but it was run to be intemperate for del Toro , as he was fructify to work on both this and two Hobbit films at the same time . unhappily , the whole Hobbit billet went kaput … as did Mountains of Madness , finally . Del Toro announced the death of Mountains of Madnesson his blogin 2012 . He said it was part because Prometheus was already in development — and since Alien was heavily mold by Lovecraftian mythos , the common people behind it were afraid of overlap .

Fantastic Voyage

This was another possible collaboration with James Cameron that has n’t come to fruition . It was announced in 2016 that del Toro was in talks to direct Cameron ’s Fantastic Voyage film , which he ’d beenpushing for since 2010 , with a script by David Goyer ( The Dark Knight ) . It sounds like this one may still be chugging along , though not very well . In January 2018 , del Toro hadreportedly addeda yield designer from The Shape of Water to the crew .

The Coffin

Add this one to the Cameron / del Toro pile . Back in 2001 , Cameron reportedlybought the rightsto the comic Holy Scripture miniseries The Coffin , a New adaptation of the Frankenstein story . It was rumored in 2004 that del Toro was working on a script treatment of the mirthful book , and write up of the picture show ’s maturation mostly stopped after 2011 .

The Count of Monte Cristo

Pinocchio might be one of del Toro ’s most - famous pet projects , but The Count of Monte Cristo may be the old and dearest to his nerve . Del Toro has been working on an adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo for decade . Firstrumored back in 2002under the name The Left Hand of Darkness ( no recounting toUrsula K. Le Guin ’s story)—but in the works for at least a decade prior to that — it was determine to be a gothic steampunk rendering of the classical set in the Wild West . Legendary came close to finance it , but later backed out , leave the project with anuncertain future . But that has n’t stopped del Toro from daydream about one mean solar day find it happen , even advise he could pluck it up after finishing Crimson Peak , which fare out in 2015 .

Mephisto’s Bridge

accord tonovelist Christopher Fowler , del Toro had antecedently adjust his novel Spanky into a movie promise Mephisto ’s Bridge , about a Faustian steal between a 1980s yuppie and a monster who wants his body . However , del Toro was offered a chance to organise Hellboy II and allow the undertaking . Fowler indicated that he does n’t see the movie happen now , but chemical element of it were incorporated into other deeds — most celebrated theAngel of Deathfrom Hellboy II , which came from a concept designing del Toro had made for Mephisto ’s Bridge .

Pacific Rim 2

This one was interesting , as this movie actually be . On his Twitter post , del Toro suggest that he had a version of Pacific Rim 2 that was “ very different ” from Uprising , a film that was largelypannedby fan of the original cinema . Pacific Rim 2 was in developing for years , with del Toroeagerly pushingfor it to in the end get made — largely because of interview demand . However , by the sentence things were moving forward , Legendary was being sell and del Toro was toldhe’d have to waitat least nine month to start out production . Instead , he step out of the conductor ’s electric chair and went on to make The Shape of Water . Pacific Rim 2 work on to get made anyway , just not in the room del Toro intended .

Superstitious

It ’s hard to find any information on this project or what it ’s based on , if anything , as most search plainly turn up del Toro’spersonal superstition . We ’ll keep an eye out .

Nightmare Alley

Nightmare Alley is one of the more lately announce projection that seems to have fall to the wayside . It wasrevealedin December 2017 that del Toro would be co - save and directing a remake of the 1947 film Nightmare Alley , described as a picture show noir that takes lieu at a fair . That ’s the first and last we ’ve hear of this project so far .

Haunted Mansion

After del Toro attend 2003 ’s Haunted Mansion movie starring Eddie Murphy , he said the first thing he wanted to do was remake it into something darker , scary , and ( let ’s be good ) better . That movie wasteasedat 2010 ’s San Diego Comic - Con , andslowly moved forwardover the years — with a draft playscript reach Disney ’s desk in 2012 . Del Toro was originally on card to direct , but then changed to co - writer and manufacturer . At one point , Ryan Gosling was in dialogue to asterisk . update have slowed down after 2016 , when del Toro tell he was stillworking on script drafts .

The Hulk Pilot

It ’s not rare for prospective tv set display to film pilots that do n’t stop up getting picked up . That looks to be the case with del Toro ’s The Incredible Hulk , which was in the works at ABCstarting in 2010 . There were reports that it wasstill move forwardin 2012 , but nothing ’s come of it since . And devote how tightly Disney is controlling the Marvel properties , especially on idiot box , it does n’t seem likely that we ’ll get this show in the future . Though , with the newDisney+streaming military service set to deliverTV shows of MCU fibre , you never know .

The Buried Giant

This looks to be the first we ’re learn that del Toro was working on a scripted version of Kazuo Ishiguro ’s 2015 novel , The Buried Giant . The story remove property after the expiry of King Arthur , where a mysterious mist robs people of their memories , leading one category to go in hunt of a Logos they barely remember . give how Ishiguroonce comparedhis novel to Pan ’s Labyrinth , seems meet that he ’d want del Toro to adapt his own body of work .

Drood

worldwide optioned del Toro for several task back in 2008 . These included remaking of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde , Slaughterhouse - Five , and Frankenstein ( which could be bind to The Coffin , although that projection was owned by Lightstorm ) . There was also a design adaptation of Dan Simmons ’ novel Drood , base on the animation of Charles Dickens . The film is still listed as being in development onIMDB .

The List of Seven

Not a mickle of info is available about this adaptation of Mark Frost ’s 1993 supernatural murder secret novel The List of Seven — only that del Toro was developing it as a film and drew up some cartoon .

The Wind in the Willows

In an interview withRotten Tomatoes , del Toro shared that he ’d spent some time around 2003 working on an adaptation of Disney ’s The malarky in the Willows . It was design to be a live - legal action and estimator exalt cross — predating themodern alive - action remake trendby over a ten . But according to del Toro , Disney was n’t content with merely telling a darling Greco-Roman tiddler ’s story . It wanted to be hip and edgy , going so far as to hint that Toad do scented tricks on a skateboard . That ’s when del Toro backed out , and nothing ’s occur with that movie since .

Untitled Secret Project

I mean , this could be anything . permit ’s use our imagination and estimate out what this one is . I ’m guess … The small Mermaid . Like a super iniquity and creepy Little Mermaid where her tongue gets ripped out . Because I ’m twisted like that .

It should be mention , it looks like del Toro is go for to get some traction on one or all of these if his serial publication of tweets is to be believed :

The thing is- each script take about a yr , so- more than a decade of work lost ( in the case of mountains , much more , since we scoiuted [ sic ] and designed etc) … To be clear these screenplays are WRITTEN , done . Each of them took months or year of my liveliness . confluence , synopsis , beat sheets and were all written , features- 90 - 130 pages each . These are not “ maybes ” or “ bid list ” token . They are done .

William Duplessie