Fresh off after a stellar premiere for Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities, the Spanish director might have started looking forward to who he’ll be getting in touch with for his next horror showcase on Netflix.
Cabinet of Curiosities came out on Netflix the week before Halloween to give horror fans an exquisite selection of works from several acclaimed directors, and some lesser-known ones, all curated by del Toro. The anthology series received mostly great reviews, and it just happens to be the first of the director’s productions under the streamer’s brand, with the arrival of del Toro's stop-motion take on Pinocchio becoming available on Netflix starting December 9.
Nevertheless, despite neither Netflix nor del Toro confirming a second season for Cabinet of Curiosities, the Spaniard is drawing a list of everyone he’d like to jump on board. "[...] we tried to get Jayro Bustamente before and he couldn’t because of COVID. When you think about Mexican filmmakers, there’s Isaa Lopez. She was going to direct one of the episodes when she got ‘True Detective’ and she couldn’t do it," del Toro told IndieWire, with the latter hardly being a surprise considering del Toro's affinity for Mexican cinema. Others who made Del Toro's exclusive shortlist were Boots Riley (Sorry To Bother You) and Larry Fessenden (The Last Winter), with the Cabinet of Curiosities presenter commending the latter for his work on Habit.
In the same interview, Del Toro, now 58, spoke of how much it means for him to support other directors, expressing his amazement at being able to make it through a 30-year career. “If I can do something to usher in a variation of the genre, I like it,” he said, about the series format. For del Toro, Cabinet of Curiosities represents an even better opportunity to do this, as he can lend his name and audience to 8 different directors at once, unlike his team-ups with the likes of Andy Muschietti in Mama.
For those eager to see del Toro bring some of his creative genius to a potential second season of Cabinet of Curiosities, he said he’d like to write the stories that bookend a potential season 2 and for others to handle the rest. Del Toro views Cabinet of Curiosities as a unique platform, citing the chance to adapt Michael Shea's The Autopsy as a perfect example.
Overall, the last few months have turned out great for del Toro, whose Pinocchio adaptation is already receiving rave reviews after screening at the BFI London Film Festival and select theaters in North America. This is quite a stark contrast to Disney's poorly-received Pinocchio remake.
Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities is now available on Netflix.
Source: IndieWire