Daring WB to Give Del Toro ‘Potter 7′
If your hopes are up get them down...
Last week news surfaced as Guillermo Del Toro was quoted saying he wouldn’t mind directing the seventh and final film in the Harry Potter franchise. Here is the quote from MTV:
They came to me once, for the third one. I’ve read them all, and when I read the books before the movies were done, I always pictured Charles Dickens - they were very Dickens-ian. The situation of Harry Potter reminded me a lot of Pip from ‘Great Expectations.’ I saw them as deeper, more creaky, more corroded; then [the stories] were textured very differently when the first two movies came out. They were so bright and happy and full of light, that I wasn’t interested.”
Del Toro also said, “I’m up to be the one who kills twenty guys… They seem to be getting eerie and darker … If they come back to me, I’ll think about it.”
Yeah, he’ll think about it until they tell him it has to appeal to the widest audience possible and that twenty people won’t be dying (even though a few will). Del Toro is certainly one of our best atmospheric directors, and a Harry Potter film done in the same style as Pan’s Labyrinth would be amazing, and would probably elevate the film to Oscar-worthy status. Unfortunately, while the Potter films have gotten darker, they still haven’t gotten “Del Toro dark” and if you were hoping he will take the helming duties on Deathly Hallows I would recommend you think again, I don’t see Warner Bros. taking the risk that Del Toro’s vision won’t appeal to the masses. Del Toro is a director that has his vision and isn’t going to deviate from it, if he was to direct you would be getting “Guillermo Del Toro’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” and while that is a film I would love to see I don’t think Warner is ready to test Del Toro’s style on their multi-million dollar baby.
In 2004, Del Toro’s buddy Alfonso Cuaron helmed Prisoner of Azkaban, and while a lot of critics will tell you it is their favorite of the series, the film has grossed the lowest out of the five films bringing in $249 million, $12.4 million less than 2002’s Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. A quick trip over to the IMDb boards will show you a battle between fans, some saying, “No, PoA is the worst pathetic excuse for a film so far.” While others say, “PoA is easily the best Potter movie ever made.” Then there are those in the middle that say, “I thought Cuaron’s movie was the most visually stunning Harry Potter film but I also felt it had the worst book to movie adaptation…” and that is all from just one post. Sorting through the rest of the posts and avoiding someone all the posters over there hate named “eidnoreid” it looks like people love the atmosphere Cuaron brought to the film, don’t like the adaptation and wish he had included the Marauders story.
Basically Cuaron made what was ultimately his vision and while it certainly changed the franchise and guided the design of the future films I don’t think Warner Bros. is ready to risk polarizing their audience again with another director that has such a unique visual style and distinct way of telling a story. I guess, in a way, I am daring Warner Bros. to bring Del Toro on board to direct this film. I think the Potter fans with film sense will rejoice in the decision. Potter purists that demand a direct adaptation won’t be so happy because Del Toro is not going to stick directly to the text, but then again it would be virtually impossible considering the length of “Deathly Hallows”, but I can guarantee he would turn in a film that would challenge your senses and make it into much more than just another Harry Potter.
NOTE: That is an image I doctored, he isn’t actually holding “Deathly Hallows”. Find the original here.
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