Copyright slashfilm
Guillermo del Toro's list of unmade projects is full of great ideas he could bring to life with aplomb, and knowing they won't ever see the light of day is incredibly frustrating. Some examples include his planned adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's "At the Mountain of Madness" and "Hellboy 3," both of which fell apart due to factors beyond del Toro's control. Heartbreakingly, we can also add "The Exorcist 4" to the list of dreams that won't ever come true — an idea the Oscar-winning director pitched after making "Mimic." In a 2006 interview with The Guardian, del Toro revealed that he wanted to helm a film that was tentatively titled "Exorcist: Chapter 4 Verse I," which would have centered around Father Merrin investigating the death of a priest who was killed by a possessed child in the Vatican. Here's what the director had to say about the unrealized project: "This is the second time [Father Merrin] faces the devil, the first time being in eastern Europe. In my take, the devil, in the guise of a young Nazi officer, says at the end of that episode, 'You and I will face each other again. I will attempt to take three children in your lifetime. If you succeed in saving one of them, you will be free. If you don't, you will be mine.' And that was very epic, setting up what followed." Guillermo del Toro's movies often contain thought-provoking religious themes, and his credentials as a horror auteur are undeniable. In short, he is arguably the perfect filmmaker to helm a movie of this ilk, so what led to his "Exorcist 4" pitch being rejected?
