For any big movie, there’s always going to be a ton of potential names being thrown around to potentially direct.
For example, we recently reported that Ben Affleck is supposedly up to direct the Justice League movie, (a rumor his reps were quick to shoot down), and his name was also mentioned to direct the big screen version of Stephen King’s The Stand.
How close he is to actually getting either gig is anybody’s guess, because a lot of times things do get blown out of proportion in the press. One time it was reported that Oliver Stone was up to direct Superman Lives, but he told me himself he was only in a meeting for fifteen minutes and that was it. (Although of course it is intriguing to think about what Ollie could do with Superman, as well as Planet of the Apes, which he was also attached to back in the ’90s with Arnold Schwarzenegger starring).
So in a lengthy series of interviews Guillermo Del Toro did with Collider, it was interesting to see he was up to direct Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, although I shouldn’t have been so surprised. As we’ve seen with Pan’s Labyrinth, Del Toro’s great at crafting a dark fairy tale, and his style could have fit right in with Harry.
As he told Collider, “I always loved the books and I think those actors were amazing. I really think about that one, not with regret, but with great curiosity, because I love them.” And if he was ever approached about a reboot (hey man, don’t give anybody any funny ideas!), Del Toro’s absolutely of the opinion that it ain’t broke, so don’t fix it.
“I would not tamper with that,” he said. “It’s an iconic property at this stage. It is a beautifully realized world that has a beginning, a middle and an end. It’s not an open playground… case closed.”
And speaking of playgrounds, Del Toro’s been asked quite a bit about the Haunted Mansion film, which I wouldn’t mind seeing myself one day because I love the Disneyland attraction. He said Disney likes the script, “We have a bunch of conceptualist art, but you never know.”
A take on The Haunted Mansion could be much better for Del Toro to tackle because it’s not as sacred as taking on Harry Potter, and either a darker or lighter take on it could work. It’s definitely one amusement park ride I would welcome being made into a film the right way, you may recall Eddie Murphy did it as a lame comedy, so we’ll see if it’s one Del Toro project of many that will come to pass.
