It seems like Guillermo del Toro may have found yet another new niche in his diverse and ever-growing portfolio of work. After his uniquely crafted, stop-motion adaptation of Pinocchio (2022) was released to mass acclaim from both critics and audiences, del Toro is already eagerly announcing his next big project. In a recent sit-down interview with The Telegraph, del Toro disclosed that his next film, again using hand-crafted stop-motion animation, will bring to life the world of Nobel Prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel The Buried Giant.
During the interview, del Toro disclosed the process he has planned so far for The Buried Giant and the basic timeline for starting production on the film.
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Based on that information, given how extensive the development process was for del Toro’s Pinocchio, and him also juggling another live-action film at the same time, it’s safe to say that we’ll likely not see The Buried Giant for some time. However, audiences can be certain that the wait will be worth it.
“The next stop-motion film I’m making is an adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Buried Giant, which I’m currently co-writing with Dennis Kelly, and we start the design process in two months…I’m shooting a live-action feature first. But in the meantime, we’re developing a look-book, and in about two years if everything goes well, we’ll start production.”
The Buried Giant was first released as a book back in 2015, penned by Kazuo Ishiguro, and was instantly a best-seller. The novel tells the story of a British couple, Axl and Beatrice, who embark on a long search for their lost son in post-Arthurian England. Like the citizens who live there, they somehow can’t recall their long-term memories, including those of their son, due to a strange mist that lingers over the land. On their journey, they’re joined by a Saxon warrior and his orphan charge, along with another illustrious knight. Together, they begin to uncover a troubling history that they all share. Revered as a tale that reflects on the power of collective memory stemming from traumatic events, the story of The Buried Giant strongly connects with readers and eventually will with movie audiences. Guillermo del Toro is likely the best director possible to bring such a story to life through a unique medium of filmmaking.
Pinocchio was Guillermo del Toro’s Lifetime Passion Project
Netflix
While Pinocchio (2022) may have seemed to some fans like a relatively left-field concept for a director like Guillermo del Toro, it turns out that the film, a darker version of the classic Italian tale, was a huge passion project for him that took many years to come to fruition. The director once exclaimed that no fictional character ever “had as deep of a personal connection to [him]” as Pinocchio. Thus, del Toro was firmly set on bringing his beloved character to life in a new way. He first announced the project way back in 2008, intending to be released in theaters in 2013.
Unfortunately, the production proceeded to endure years of “development hell.” While occasional announcements about concept art for the story’s characters came around, the only other news was the constant changing of production companies for the project. Finally, in 2017, Patrick McHale (Over the Garden Wall) announced he would co-write the screenplay. Still, later that year production was suspended when no studios were willing to provide the needed financing. The following year, Netflix swooped in and acquired the film, reviving what was likely a permanently dead project, saving one of the most beloved del Toro films in his entire career and the landslide of much-deserved awards it would come to win.
