From 'The Hobbit' to 'Haunted Mansion'?

By Sarah Sluis

When Guillermo del Toro left his directing duties on The Hobbit because of production delays, I expected him to move on to something equally grand. But it's hard to one-up the world of Middle Earth, so it looks as though del Toro will be taking things down a notch, and going either more commercial, or more epic and

off the beaten path.

First up is an announcement that del Toro will tackle an adaptation of the theme park ride Haunted Mansion. While I've gone on that ride a number of times (its short wait times make it a good option for time-conscious theme park-goers) and enjoyed its friendly creepiness, I've never been "inspired" by it the way del Toro claims to be. He told THR that he has a room in his home devoted to memorabilia of the ride, and "When I'm depressed or when I have a problem, I ride the Haunted Mansion ride to clear my head." While I was momentarily buoyed by his clear passion for this idea, I was dismayed by the plan to make it a "four-quadrant" movie. I can't think of many scary movies that appeal to both kids and adults. More likely, there will be either bored adults or kids who remember the movie as a scarring experience. Del Toro will co-write and produce the movie, with a "possibility" of directing.

In an exclusive, Entertainment Weekly speculates that del Toro will next direct At the Mountain of Madness, based on his adaptation of a 1930s H.P. Lovecraft novel. The plot centers on a Shackleton-esque group of explorers traversing the Antarctic who encounter a group of tentacled monsters. I love the way open spaces can look creepy, from Christopher Nolan's Alaska-set Insomnia to the famous cornfield scene in North by Northwest, so I'm more on board with this project due to its setting alone. Since it's expected that del Toro will announce his next project when he previews another haunted house film he co-wrote and produced, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, to Comic-Con audiences this weekend, we'll be kept in blissfully short suspense.