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Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro is one of the most recognized directors in Hollywood. ThePan’s Labyrinthfilmmaker has won the Oscar for Best Director, Best Picture, and Best Animated Feature in his career and has been a part of several acclaimed genre pieces. His penchant for monster and horror stories knows no competitors.
Del Toro announced way back in 2013 that he wanted to work on an adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s classic sci-fi novelSlaughterhouse-Five. The filmmaker mentioned on multiple occasions that he andAdaptationscreenwriter Charlie Kaufman had cracked the idea for the adaptation but it never came to be.
Guillermo del Toro teased an adaptation ofSlaughterhouse-Fivewith Charlie Kaufman
Guillermo del Torohas so many unrealized projects that a whole Wikipedia page has been dedicated to them. From a remake ofCreature from the Black Lagoon(which ultimately inspiredShape of Water) to an adaptation ofHP Lovecraft’sAt Mountains of Madness, del Toro has announced so many projects that will probably never see the light of day.
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One among those was an apparent dream project of his which was an adaptation ofSlaughterhouse-Five. Written by Kurt Vonnegut, the sci-fi novel followed the non-chronological time travel of a World War II soldier and his dealing with the PTSD caused by the war. The novel had already been adapted into a 1972 film by George Roy Hill.
Set to be a more literal and non-linear adaptation of the novel, del Toro revealed that he had cracked the way to adapt it with writer Charlie Kaufman. He said of the project (viaDen of Geek),
It’s a difficult, difficult movie to make logistically because what I want to do is, I want to do the idea that he’s unstuck in time. I don’t want to do flash-forward, flash-back; I really want all time to exist simultaneously, because that is what’s interesting to me.
He mentioned at the time that although he could not get the film to be made back then, with the clout ofShape of Water’s success, he was hoping it would be financed.
Guillermo del Toro revealed the Catch-22 situation that led toSlaughterhouse-Fivenot being made
Kurt Vonnegut’sSlaughterhouse-FiveorThe Children’sCrusadeis often considered one of the greatest anti-war novels ever written. Vonnegut reportedly took inspiration from his own time as an American soldier during World War II and explored many themes of post-war trauma, mental illness, and religion with the work.
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Guillermo Del Toro revealed that the primary reason for the film not happening back in 2013 was that the studio wanted him to commit to it as his next film right when he was about to enter theproduction ofPacific Rim. He also mentioned the reason why he could not do it at the time,
I talked to Charlie Kaufman, and we came up with an idea on how to adapt the book, but no one’s paying for that yet. I wish they would, but no one’s paying. Charlie Kaufman’s not a cheap writer. He’s expensive, and for a studio to develop it, they need to know I’m making it, and I cannot tell them I’m making it until I have a screenplay. So it’s a Catch-22.
While the world is grateful that he didPacific Rim(pity it does not have a valid sequel), fans would still be excited to see how del Toro would crack the film, especially now that Kaufman has turned director with surreal films likeSynecdoche, New YorkandI’m Thinking of Ending Things.
Nishanth A
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2417
Nishanth A is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on TV shows with over 2,000 articles published. He has been an entertainment journalist for the past two years and a scriptwriter at various corporations before that, working on educational content. With a Communications, English Literature, and Psychology triple major, Nishanth usually covers news and analyses on Star Trek, particularly Strange New Worlds and The Next Generation; Doctor Who, the DCU, and more.A Nolan fan, Nishanth spends his time exploring the filmographies of various directors with an auteurial style or can be found making short movies of his own. He has also contributed as a feature writer for Film Companion, focusing on the South division.
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Charlie KaufmanGuillermo del Toro
