Copyright slashfilm
Fun trivia: director Guillermo del Toro's two most recent films were a 2022 adaptation of Carlo Collodi's "Pinocchio" and a 2025 adaptation of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein." As it so happens, "Pinocchio" and "Frankenstein" were the two books most deeply beloved by the sentient android Johnny Five in the sci-fi comedy "Short Circuit 2," and the only two he read while being held in captivity. One can only posit whether or not del Toro is a "Short Circuit 2" fan, or if this is just a coincidence. For every film del Toro makes, there is at least one that has stalled in production. He was once slated to direct a superhero movie called "Justice League Dark," and still hasn't able to produce his H.P. Lovecraft project "At the Mountains of Madness." He was once enthused about making a film based on the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland, and was once keen to remake the 1966 sci-fi film "Fantastic Voyage." He has been attached to adaptations of "The Wind in the Willows," "The List of Seven," and "The Count of Monte Cristo." Time will tell if any of these get made. Most vitally for this article, del Toro was also once in production on an adaptation of Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve's "Beauty and the Beast." Del Toro's version was merely going to be called "Beauty," and he had gotten as far as sifting through Hollywood, looking for actors who might be interested in the two title roles. Little is known about that stalled production, other than Channing Tatum was offered the role of the Beast. Tatum turned the role down, however, and del Toro seemingly got distracted with other projects. Tatum regrets that. The actor recently spoke with Vanity Fair about the state of his career, and he stated outright that he laments the day he rejected a chance to work with Guillermo del Toro. He had his reasons, of course, but Tatum now wishes he had taken up the offer. He, along with many cineastes, is a fan of del Toro's work.
