Nevermore: At the Mountains of Madness

Welcome to "Nevermore", a new fortnightly segment where I look at some of the greatest films never made. Be they earlier versions of films that eventually would be made, or films that were just scrapped altogether, this segment will cover different films that unfortunately never quite took off. They will mainly be horror, sci-fi, and cult films for the foreseeable future, but who knows where this segment will take us in the coming months. This week to kick things off, I thought it would be appropriate to look at a project that would have been helmed by recent Oscar-winner Guillermo Del Toro: his adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness.

Background:

At the Mountains of Madness is a sci-fi horror novella written by acclaimed horror author H.P. Lovecraft in 1931. Del Toro, who has ferquently paid homage to Lovecraft's work in his own filmography, penned a screenplay with Matthew Robbins back in 2006 based on Lovecraft's story. Originally the project was taken to Warner Bros. where there were disputes over aspects of the story and the budget. An adaptation like this would have required a rather hefty budget to begin with, but because of how ambitious and unconventional the project was, the company were unwilling to fund it. Del Toro stated that the studio were anxious about the budget, as well as certain aspects of the story such as its lack of a romantic subplot, and unfortunately they just would not budge. However, in 2010 things began to look up for the project with James Cameron on board as producer and Tom Cruise set to star. This was excellent news for Del Toro, who aimed to begin production in the summer of 2011. However, once again certain things got in the way..

Plot Details:

It's unclear how faithful Del Toro and Robbins' screenplay was to Lovecraft's original work, but it's safe to assume that it would have remained reasonably close. The original novella followed an expedition to Antarctica during which the party members discover strange new lifeforms unlike anything else on Earth, as well as the ruins of an ancient city. However, as the team carry out their research and explore the ruined city, it soon becomes clear that there are ancient beings awaiting them there, and they don't take kindly to strangers.

If anyone can tackle Lovecraft, it's Del Toro. His keen understanding of the genre as well as his distinct visual style would be perfect for adapting a Lovecraftian story. He has claimed that he still has a lot of concept art and story boards for the project, and that some day he will finally release them to the public. However, for now all we have is a model of one of the films creatures that was on display at his 'At Home With Monsters' exhibition (the giant penguin below).

So What Happened?

While initially things seemed to be looking up for Del Toro, it unfortunately didn't last. This time the dispute was with Universal Studios over the films rating, Del Toro was insistent on an R-rating, but the studio would not comply as they believed that a PG-13 movie would sell better. As well as that, Del Toro further stated that his adaptation bore too many similarities to Ridley Scott's Prometheus released in 2012. This left Del Toro to put the film on a "long pause- if not demise", and the project has not been touched since. Although considering last years Mummy movie, perhaps it's a good thing that Tom Cruise was kept out of this one.

It's a shame that At the Mountains of Madness never came to fruition as Del Toro and Lovecraft seem like a match made in heaven. However, due to recent events and the fact that Prometheus turned out to be shite, perhaps there is still some hope for the project yet..

Chances of it Ever Getting Made:

If Del Toro was ever going to give At the Mountains of Madness another go, now would be the perfect time. First of all, Del Toro has just won both Best Picture and Best Director at the Academy Awards, which have really gained the Mexican filmmaker a lot of well deserved prestige. Perhaps with such achievements under his belt at the moment, studios would now be more inclined to take that risk and give him the creative freedom he needs to bring his project to life.

Secondly, the success of R-rated studio films such as Deadpool and Logan has shown that a film doesn't have to be PG-13 to make significant profit at the box-office. Like the comics that inspired both of those films, H.P. Lovecraft's work has a massive cult following that would easily flock to theaters if At the Mountains of Madness was eventually released. With Del Toro's name attached as well, you'd be mad not to see a profit there.

Finally, after the release of Annihilation this week, it would seem that the world is more ready for a new Lovecraft adaptation than they ever were. While it's not adapted from a Lovecraft story itself, Alex Garland's Annihilation bares many similarities with another of Lovecraft's short stories The Colour Out of Space. Annihilation managed to capture the essence of Lovecraft's seemingly unfilmable story, despite not being a direct adaptation itself. Due to the rave reviews that the film has since been getting, it's clear that more people are ready to embrace the world of Lovecraft. Guillermo Del Toro may not get to make a third Hellboy film, but I have a strong feeling that At the Mountains of Madness still might just have a chance at getting made. Let's hope so anyway.

So that's it for the first installment of 'Nevermore', I hope you liked it because there's plenty more where that came from. The next installment will be focusing on a certain Mummy movie, but I'm not saying which one just yet, you'll have to wait. I'll be back next week with more content but until then, have a good weekend and a smashing St. Patrick's Day!