Guillermo del Toro’s Horror Book ‘Trollhunters’ To Debut On Netflix
Writer/director Guillermo del Toro is bringing a new animated series called Trollhunters to Netflix. The streaming service announced the deal Tuesday, describing the show as “a new, fantastical world wrapped around two best friends who make a startling discovery beneath their hometown.” The series is an adaptation of del Toro’s young adult horror book by the same name.
The series falls under the company’s extended, multi-year deal with Dreamworks Animation that will also bring a reboot of the Japanese import Voltron: Defender of the Universe. Several attempts have been made to revive the popular 1980s sci-fi cartoon about a giant humanoid robot and the space adventurers who piloted him throughout space and defend Earth from evil forces, but all have failed.
Ann Daly, president of DreamWorks, said, “This agreement adds to the incredible foundation we’ve built together with Netflix over a number of years across both film and television.”
Both Trollhunters and Voltron are slated for 2016 debut, and join current titles under the DreamWorks Animation banner, including original productions that are set to be added to the streaming service, per Variety.
Netflix + Guillermo Del Toro + DreamWorks = Trollhunters animated series https://t.co/ZEkyWf0Dt8 pic.twitter.com/DlbevmiOaI
— Catsuka (@catsuka) January 5, 2016
“DreamWorks Animation is synonymous with great storytelling that families around the world enjoy,” said Cindy Holland, Netflix’s VP of origin series. “It’s with great pleasure that we expand on an already successful relationship with DreamWorks Animation to bring more premium kids and family television to Netflix members globally.”
Guillermo del Toro is best known for his Spanish-language dark fantasy films, such as the gothic horror The Devil’s Backbone, and Pan’s Labyrinth. His critically acclaimed American action movies have been Blade II, Hellboy, its sequel Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008), and the science fiction monster film Pacific Rim (2013). Additionally, del Toro served as producer on several films including Kung Fu Panda 2, Puss in Boots (2011), and the 2013 supernatural horror Mama. He is also credited as co-writer for his numerous contributions to The Hobbit script, which he was originally tapped to direct until he dropped out due to production problems.
In an interview with Robert K. Elder for his book The Best Film You’ve Never Seen, del Toro explains how he prepares for each project: “I’m as thorough and as well-prepared as I can be in my filmmaking, and that came from the discipline of having to work as a make-up effects artist many, many, many times in my life.”
Last year, del Toro released his fantasy horror Crimson Peak, which follows an aspiring author who is “torn between love for her childhood friend and the temptation of a mysterious outsider. Trying to escape the ghosts of her past, she is swept away to a house that breathes, bleeds – and remembers.”
He shared with Deadline his inspiration behind the project and whether or not a particular haunted house served as the template.
“In an oblique bleak sense, one of my favorite gothics is Jacques Tourneur’s I Walked With A Zombie, which is not necessarily a classical gothic but is very much Jane Eyre in certain aspects of structure. Another is Dragonwyck with Vincent Price, very sumptuous and luxuriant even if it doesn’t use the supernatural element as openly,” he said.
Guillermo del Toro to present Hideo Kojima Hall of Fame award at DICE https://t.co/CG0sd26njG pic.twitter.com/0tcYtoEp1A
— Polygon (@Polygon) January 5, 2016
The director will present the Hall of Fame honor to game developer Hideo Kojima during the 19th D.I.C.E. Awards on February 18 in Las Vegas. The duo had planned to collaborate on Silent Hills before the survival horror video game got cancelled. It was to be the ninth installment in the Silent Hill series.
Guillermo Del Toro spoke to Entertainment Weekly recently about the status of Pacific Rim 2, revealing that the still in development project is delayed but that he and his production team are “still on it.”
[Images courtesy Jerod Harris/Getty Images/Twitter]
