Charlie Kaufman Writing Guillermo Del Toro's 'Slaughterhouse-Five'; Benedict Cumberbatch Eyed for 'Frankenstein'

When Pacific Rim opens in a few days it will be Guillermo Del Toro's first film in six years, but he's always got a number of projects cooking at any given time. Back in 2008 he signed a four-picture deal with Universal that has yet to amount to much of anything, with his attempt to adapt At the Mountains of Madness becoming a high-profile scratch from the studio's slate due to budget concerns. Two of the other films Del Toro was said to be developing as part of the deal were Frankenstein and an update on Kurt Vonnegut's sci-fi classic Slaughterhouse-Five, and while talking to the DailyTelegraph he gave updates on both.

There hasn't been much movement on Slaughterhouse-Five in awhile, although last year he spoke about Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) developing the project with him in the beginning before, but now it sounds like the writer will be taking on the screenplay....

Del Toro: "Charlie [Kaufman] and I talked for about an hour-and-a-half and came up with a perfect way of doing the book. I love the idea of the Trafalmadorians [the aliens of 'Slaughterhouse-Five'] -- to be 'unstuck in time,' where everything is happening at the same time. And that's what I want to do. It's just a catch-22. The studio will make it when it''s my next movie, but how can I commit to it being my next movie until there's a screenplay? Charlie Kaufman is a very expensive writer!"

As amazing as the idea of Del Toro and Kaufman working on a Vonnegut adaptation sounds, the pairing of the director with actor Benedict Cumberbatch is also worth getting excited over. The two will team up on the horror film Crimson Peak next year, and Del Toro wants the Sherlock actor to be a part of his Frankenstein film. Doug Jones, who played Abe Sapien in the Hellboy movies and various creatures in Pan's Labyrinth, has been attached to play the monster for a few years. So it's possible Cumberbatch will take on the role of Dr. Victor Frankenstein, which he recently played in Danny Boyle's stage production.

There are already two Frankenstein movies set to hit theaters soon, so we'll see if Del Toro's vision ever happens. Considering Del Toro's heavy workload, which includes working on the FX series The Strain, a possible Beauty and the Beast film, a darker-themed Pinocchio movie, and even a Pacific Rim sequel, it's probably best to take a "wait and see" approach. [ThePlaylist]