Known for his incredible vision behind some of the most imaginative and terrifying tales of our time, Guillermo del Toro is back in business with his upcoming Netflix anthology series, Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities. The Academy Award-winning director recently sat down with Netflix alongside fellow horror crafter, Mike Flanagan, with both talking about their 2022 spooky season projects. Excited to give his fans a look behind the stories yet to be told, del Toro opened up about what led him to create the four night event and his inspiration surrounding the two tales that he penned.
The monster master revealed that since reading his very first horror book, which happened to be an anthology series, it’s been a lifelong goal of his to see that same style play out on the small screen. “I wanted to do an anthology that harvested some of the best that I’ve read, and a few new ideas that I want to write,” del Toro said, adding that he has a soft spot for “writing short stories.” The upcoming project will see two of del Toro’s musings come to life, with others penned by folks including comic book author Emily Carroll, Mandy co-writers Panos Cosmatos and Aaron Stewart-Ahn, and, of course, H.P. Lovecraft, because what horror series would be complete without a tale inspired by or straight from the writings of the legendary Lovecraft?
Del Toro’s collections act as bookends to the multi-night event, with “Lot 36” kicking things off on October 25, and “The Murmuring” drawing it to a close on October 28. Both original ideas from the The Shape of Water director, the former was born out of the thought of someone obtaining a storage unit that holds dark and dangerous secrets. Speaking about his own storage mishap, del Toro recalls, “They sent the mail to the wrong address, and they sold all my storage to somebody. It had all my storyboards and it took a while to recuperate.” A nightmare indeed, but it eventually led del Toro to dream up the plot for “Lot 36” which was then adapted for the screen by Regina Corrado (Deadwood). Bringing another familiar name in to direct, del Toro recruited Guillermo Navarro (Pan’s Labyrinth) and cast Tim Blake Nelson (Watchmen) in the episode’s leading role.
As for “The Murmuring,” del Toro reveals that while on vacation in Europe, he saw a flock of birds and thought, “‘What if the birds were murmuring in the sky? What if they were forming patterns because they carry the souls of the dead?’” Bringing another clever mind in on this installment, the Crimson Peak director asked The Babadook’s Jennifer Kent to stand at the helm of the episode. “She made it a story about healing, and I was blown away,” del Toro recalls, surrounding a move that Kent made that he “didn’t see coming.” The final episode of the anthology collection will star Essie Davis (Babadook), Andrew Lincoln (The Walking Dead), and Hannah Galway (Under the Banner of Heaven).
And, there’s even more chilling tales where that came from! Be sure to tune in when del Toro’s nightmarish dreams come to life when Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities kicks off on Netflix beginning October 25. Catch the trailer below.