Guillermo del Toro often creates stories
about heroes who face off against impossible odds.
Massive monsters, mythical mazes,
supernatural terrors and so on.
Fans of del Toro know that in spite of his
reputation for creating powerful work
he seems to have a devil of a time completing
his projects.
He doesn't have a reputation for being a huge failure
though. Perhaps because many of his failures don't
seem to be entirely his fault.
This week for example, del Toro assured us all
that Pacific Rim 2 would definitely happen
in spite of reports that the project had been shelved
indefinitely due to studio funding issues.
Even though Pacific Rim was del Toro's most
financially successful project to date, it's sequel
seemed risky to studios due to the recent failures of
other unrelated films.
This is definitely not the first time that del Toro
has had to assure fans that he's going to conquer his
own bad luck.
del Toro's work on Hellboy is another such example.
Planned to be a live action trilogy
del Toro's film adaptation of this comic book franchise
never made it past it's second entry in 2008.
As recently as 2015 though, del Toro continued to
assure fans that Hellboy 3 could still happen.
Since the live action films came and went
the Hellboy franchise saw two straight-to-DVD animated
films featuring the film's star, Ron Perlman, as the lead.
A third animated film was planned
but it never surfaced. Sound familiar?
In 2008, del Toro helped pen the story to a Hellboy
video game. The game was widely panned by reviewers.
Yet, del Toro has not given up on Hellboy.
And somehow, his fans haven't given up on him either.
Perhaps it's because the man knows his bad luck
well enough to keep his fingers in a lot of pies.
That way he's always got a new project to which
he could divert his interest and the attention of his fans.
But having one's fingers in too many pies
can be troublesome at times.
The most notable example of a depressing
del Toro departure would be his exit from The Hobbit.
After working on the film for two years
he left in 2010 in order to attend to other
existing long term commitments.
One such commitment was a deal to make
animated films for Disney Double Dare You.
Even though del Toro left The Hobbit in order to
fulfill other deals like the one he'd made with Disney,
by the time he returned it was already too late and
the Disney deal was gone.
Pacific Rim was del Toro's next successful project
but before completing that film the man faced yet
more obstacles.
He was slated to adapt H.P. Lovecraft's
At the Mountains of Madness into a film
and Tom Cruise got tapped to star.
The development and eventual failure of that film
happened at the same time as the intial development
process for Pacific Rim.
In the world of video games the del Toro curse
reigns supreme.
For his most recent game project, Silent Hills, del Toro
partnered with Hideo Kojima of Metal Gear Solid fame.
The teaser demo for their game which was called P.T.
received so much critical acclaim that it appeared
on several best of the month and year lists
by game press sites.
That seems bizarre for a game demo designed to be
a trailer for a future project.
In spite of P.T.'s acclaim however, Silent Hills got the axe.
But after his experience with P.T. and the whiplash
of the subsequent cancellation of Silent Hills
del Toro declared himself "done with video games!"
this past year.
Even though he's critically acclaimed as a creator
he's been besieged by bad luck throughout his career.
From scheduling conflicts to failing financials
to inexplicable cancellations.
Yet unlike other creators who were once beloved
but whose massive failures stained their reputations
and led to a fan exodus.
Such as game developer Peter Molyneux whose game
Godus led to an onslaught of disappointment and
Molyneux's eventual refusal to do press interviews.
del Toro's behavior comes across as surprisingly
resilient. If anything, bad reviews and lukewarm
reception seem to be the least of del Toro's
concerns as a creator.
He's had to bounce back from worse.
Much like Pacific Rim's Rinko Kikuichi
del Toro always seems to have a secret sword
hidden in the back of his mind.
A new approach to try even when all seems lost.
Here's the good news for all of us Pacific Rim 2
hopefuls. del Toro seems uniquely suited to sequels
given his excellent work on Blade II and Hellboy II.
Perhaps it's because he's used to having to revisit
his own shelved projects time and time again
with fresh eyes.
Even if Pacific Rim 2 doesn't pan out
I'm willing to bet something else weird will.
It might be a straight-to-DVD animated featurette.
It might even be Hellboy III.
Whatever it is, I'm confident that Guillermo del Toro
is working on it.
Thanks for watching.
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in the comments.
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