According to Variety, del Toro is officially co-producing HATER alongside Mark Johnson. del Toro was originally approached to direct the flick, but has since signed on to direct THE HOBBIT, and… welll, that little flick will be keeping him busy for the next four years.
In his own words, here is the extent of del Toro’s involvement with this project: I’ll carry my weight on the creative side, in choosing elements and storyboarding, but it will be up to Mark and the director we choose to execute the day to day.
At least he has some creative involvement! Briefly, HATER is about an epidemic of random violence in which ordinary people strike lethally without warning or remorse. Sounds similar to Stephen King’s CELL, or this past year’s THE SIGNAL, in that normal people are turned into raging psychopaths. Man, that premise never gets old!
Adapted to the screen by Glen Mazzara, no director has been signed on for the job yet… but stick around, as the announcement will likely happen soon enough. So what’s next for del Toro? Oh, that’s right… a little movie called HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY hits theaters everywhere July 11th.