By Sarah Sluis
Making good on the adage "when it rains, it pours" Guillermo
del Toro has not only snagged the directorial duties for The Hobbit, which will tie him up for the next four years, but he
also has managed to keep Universal committed to the four projects they had been
planning with him: Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Slaughterhouse-Five and upcoming novel Drood.
Putting up with a four-year setback on these projects marks
a pretty big commitment for Universal. In a statement to Variety,
production president Donna Langley said the decision was made after some "tough
conversations," which sounds like a pretty juicy understatement.
Universal also admitted that it's willing to be patient in
order to have the right vision, citing upcoming film Wolf Man (grainy, leaked trailer here) as an example where it paid
off to use an experienced director. The
film, helmed by Joe Johnston, who started out working on special effects in Star Wars and has since directed Honey, I Shrunk the Kids! and Jumanji, is scheduled for a June
release, and will likely be a Universal tentpole.
If plans to develop Universal monster properties Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll come through, the studio will be well on their way to
remaking most of their monster franchises. Its reincarnation of The Mummy
(although not in a plot sense) has already spawned its third sequel. Looking at their other properties, I would
not be surprised if we see another Invisible
Man or Creature of the Black Lagoon
in development a few years down the line.
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