Guillermo Del Toro stacks adaptations of Frankenstein and Slaughterhouse Five onto his brimming plate of projects

July 8th 2013, 8:30pm

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

With his latest opus about to hit theaters this week, PACIFIC RIM helmer Guillermo Del Toro is once again talking about the projects he'd like to tackle in the future, including his long-gestating take on FRANKENSTEIN with Benedict Cumberbatch and a new adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE with a script by none other than Charlie Kaufman (BEING JOHN MALKOVICH). Speaking to Daily Telegraph, Del Toro talked at length about both adaptations, indicating that he'd like Cumberbatch, who will co-star in his next feature, CRIMSON PEAK, to play the monster in FRANKENSTEIN and that he's already spoken to Kaufman about SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE:

"Charlie [Kaufman] and I talked for about an hour-and-a-half and came up with a perfect way of doing the book. I love the idea of the Trafalmadorians [the aliens of 'Slaughterhouse-Five'] — to be 'unstuck in time,' where everything is happening at the same time. And that's what I want to do. It's just a catch-22. The studio will make it when it''s my next movie, but how can I commit to it being my next movie until there's a screenplay? Charlie Kaufman is a very expensive writer!"

Cumberbatch has played the monster in the stage adaptation of FRANKENSTEIN directed by Danny Boyle, so it's not too hard to see why he'd be interested in the actor for the part. With a slate that's nearly impossible to maintain, Del Toro has got a lot of balls in the air, including the FX show The Strain, a stop-motion PINNOCHIO, his gothic feature CRIMSON PEAK, a new Incredible Hulk TV show, the DC comics JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK pic, and the much-desired, but long stalled adaptation of AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS. I love the guy's ambition, but hot damn, it may be time to slow down that ol' five year plan. If PACIFIC RIM is a hit, then you can stack a sequel onto that slate as well, which makes for a dizzying amount of work for one man to handle.

PACIFIC RIM hits theaters this Friday, July 12, 2013.