Despite being rumored to be in a showdown with Tom Cruise for the lead role in Guillermo Del Toro‘s upcoming 3D adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft‘s “At The Mountain Of Madness” and even being touted as the early studio favorite, James McAvoy has now revealed he’s heard nothing regarding the Del Toro project let alone anything about an offer to take the lead role of Dyer.
“Not at all, not at all,” said McAvoy, responding to questions of an approach by Del Toro and company. “I don’t know anything about the story, but he’s an amazing director. I would be very lucky to be able to work with someone like that one day.” Does that mean Del Toro’s reported number one choice, Cruise, is leading the race? Possibly but, last we heard, reps for Cruise added that the actor was “not officially on board” either leaving Ron Perlman as the only concrete name linked to the project (in the role of Ian Larsen).
Produced by James Cameron himself, the adaptation of Lovecraft’s novel basically follows geologist William Dyer, a professor from Miskatonic University, who leads an arctic expedition in the 1930s that uncovers something otherworldly. Del Toro adapted the story for the screen alongside Matthew Robbins (“Mimic,” “Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark“) with one review of an early script calling it “a ‘Hellboy‘ movie without Hellboy, with a light dose of Carpenter’s ‘The Thing.'” Most excitingly, though, is the apparent pacing and action of the story, of which the review notes that “there are fights, flights, chases, shoot-outs, cliffhangers, last second salvations, big explosions….The pace is quick: once the action starts, around the 30 minute mark, it never stops. NEVER.”
Production is eying a summer start in Canada which certainly leaves plenty of time to go through all the casting rumors and innuendo; we’re sure this won’t be the last time we hear McAvoy or Cruise’s names in relation to this project. In the meant time, Del Toro is probably continuing the rewrite the script — not because he needs to but simply because he can. [CinemaBlend]