While at work one day, a colleague of mine by the name of Joe Helmreich and I were chatting about movies, particularly about the new Star Wars films that are in the works along with Justice League and the future of Batman. We started throwing the idea around that Guillermo del Toro would be a great director to helm a franchise like Star Wars just as he would be a great filmmaker to direct a superhero film. It was then when Joe and I started talking about the history of the Batman films where Joe made some very strong points that if anyone could follow-up Nolan’s Batman trilogy with success it would be Mr. del Toro. I asked him if he would consider writing an editorial on his argument and, after agreeing, he submitted the below for your reading pleasure, imagination and in case somebody at Warner Bros. needed a really good idea.
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When news broke on October 30th that George Lucas was selling Lucasfilm Ltd. to Disney for a reported $4.05 billion, the Hollywood rumor mill, having been caught off-guard, went into total overdrive. With Michael Arndt quickly confirmed as screenwriter for the newly announced Star Wars: Episode VII, the big question became who would be directing? It seems likely now that X Men: First Class helmer Matthew Vaughn will be stepping into that role, but nothing is certain, and another name that’s been bandied about (and one who, unlike Steven Spielberg, Brad Bird and J.J. Abrams, has not flat out rejected the idea), is beloved Mexican auteur, Guiellermo del Toro.
It’s a natural choice. Del Toro has already demonstrated action and fantasy success with two crowd-pleasing Hellboy movies and by this time next year, he’ll likely have a major blockbuster under his belt, with the upcoming sci fi epic Pacific Rim. In addition, del Toro has earned respectability as a genuine artiste, having crafted Pan’s Labyrinth, a cinematic marvel that is also one of the most original and enthralling fantasy films since Lucas’ original trilogy.
In short, there is little doubt that del Toro would be absolutely perfect for Star Wars. Just as there is little doubt that Star Wars would be absolutely terrible for del Toro.
In truth, Guillermo del Toro could make the greatest Star Wars movie yet and it still wouldn’t matter. Star Wars is George Lucas’ baby and that won’t change. This may not matter when you’re Matthew Vaughn, a promising young filmmaker still in the early stages of building a reputation. Steven Spielberg got his start directing for Columbo and James Cameron’s first film was Piranha II. But when you’ve already established yourself as a visionary artist, when you’ve mastered the ability to create your own intricately imagined worlds, do you really want to spend your time running around in someone else’s? Del Toro already killed two years pushing off original projects to pursue The Hobbit, which, as we all know, went nowhere for him—and even that would have been a better choice than Star Wars, since Peter Jackson was not the actual creator of The Lord of the Rings and J.R.R. Tolkien never made movies.
Del Toro has ultimately nothing to gain from doing a Star Wars film, besides an admittedly large chunk of change. If the movie is good, he’ll be commended for not having screwed Star Wars up (further) and will be called, at best, a “worthy successor” to Lucas, the J.J. Abrams to his Gene Roddenberry, the Jason Siegel to his Jim Henson. If it’s bad, well, he will have ruined one of the most anticipated films in cinema history.
Does this mean that del Toro should steer clear of all established properties and stick to purely original works? No. In fact, there’s another major franchise that is currently seeking a new director to take the helm, a film series that nearly rivals Star Wars in visibility and commercial success and one where, as with the original Star Wars trilogy, the bar has been set extremely high.
No, I am not talking about Tyler Perry’s Madea films, but Warner Bros’ beloved Batman franchise. Yes, Christopher Nolan has left big shoes to fill, but if anyone would be embraced by fans as a worthy successor, it would be del Toro. More importantly, unlike the Star Wars, Terminator, or even Transformers series, the Batman films are not associated with any one particular filmmaker, nor are they tied to one particular aesthetic (see James Bond) or cast (see Harry Potter and Twilight) so as to make their directors seem interchangeable. With Batman, each filmmaker has managed to make his movies distinctly his own, for better or worse. No one would mistake The Dark Knight for Batman Returns and no one would confuse either film for Batman and Robin.
Imagine if del Toro could marry the fun, comic book sensibility of his Hellboy movies with the dark imagery and tragic overtones of Pan’s Labrynth and The Devil’s Backbone. The film would no doubt be a masterpiece and entirely worthy of shelf space beside Batman and The Dark Knight. In del Toro’s hands, Batman could start fresh, maybe moving away from the gritty realism of the past three films in favor of something a little more gothic, perhaps reminiscent of Kelley Jones’ take on the character in his late 90’s comic artwork. Most importantly, when he finished with Batman, del Toro could simply move on to the next project, as previous Batman directors have. And what shall Warner Brothers do then? Actually, by that point, there should be another major director available, one with equally strong—if not stronger—fanboy and comic credentials and one who would be just coming off a humungous franchise, himself. The studio would be wise to hire this newly-minted A-list director. Assuming Matthew Vaughn wants the job.
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