In the often generic world of Hollywood, Guillermo del Toro has stood out as a unique voice in blending fantasy and horror, most notably with Pan’s Labyrinth, his Hellboy films, Crimson Peak, and his 2018 Best Picture winner The Shape of Water. In recent years, the filmmaker has been working seemingly non-stop from project to project, writing and producing others while helming his more high-profile ones.
Now Guillermo del Toro has found another passion project to produce in the form of Mexican writer/director Issa López’s “werewolf-Western.” Do I need to say more? The concept already sounds amazing on that description alone! López elaborated with these words to Entertainment Weekly:
It’s about time for the werewolf to make a comeback on the big screen! Issa López impressed Guillermo del Toro with her 2017 horror indie Tigers Are Not Afraid. The Spanish-language horror mystery is about a young orphan girl named Estrella (Paola Lara) who is at the center of drug cartel turmoil in a Mexican town. During a violent happening at her school, Estrella’s teacher hands her three pieces of chalk, arming her with three wishes in the haunting world she lives in.
It will be exciting to see what the talented filmmaker does when placing the fascinating mythology of werewolves in the Western genre. She makes a great point about how there really hasn’t been a memorable movie starring werewolves in some time. While the story of the shapeshifting beast howling at the full moon is iconic, it has often come off as tacky on the big screen. If anyone can change this it’s Issa López and Guillermo del Toro!
There’s certainly a ton of exciting projects coming from Guillermo del Toro in the next few years, and it’s nice to see him assist new talent with his recognizable name. You can see his project Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, which he co-wrote/produced in theaters now.