The word racing around the Halo Movie Project right now is that Hellboy director Guillermo del Toro is the front runner to get the job and has actually already been in negotiations for the spot.
This is interesting news for a couple of reasons. But first, here’s what the good folks over at M&C had to say on the issue:
They say, that at a junket promoting ‘King Kong’ in New York, word started circulating that it’s going to be Guillermo Del Toro in the director’s chair for ‘Halo’, and that he’s currently in negotiations for the job. Del Toro could be a good fit. He’s a high caliber, big name director, of the type Microsoft and Halo game maker Bungie have insisted they’re going to get. His horror roots should serve him well in ‘Halo’s’ alien infested universe too.
Ok now wait just a minute. Since when is Guillermo del Toro a “high caliber, big name” director!?!?! Cronos wasn’t bad. Blade II was a bad film that also happened to be pretty fun to watch because of the action, and Hellboy (which I liked more than most people) had very little success, and wasn’t nearly as good as it could have… or SHOULD have been. I also liked Mimic too… but nothing that blew my socks off.
To me, Guillermo del Toro is a decent and serviceable director. To call him a “Big name, high calibre” director is quite a stretch though.
Now, having said that… let me also say that I think Guillermo del Toro would actually be the perfect choice to direct a film like Halo The Movie. He has an understanding of the audience this film will attract, he’s done good action before and has some horror roots that would serve him well in a project like this one.
So in general, I like the idea of Guillermo del Toro Directing Halo… but be excited because he would be the right guy for the job… not because he a “Big name, high calibre” director.
