Guillermo Del Toro Addresses Tom Cruise Casting Rumors

Director of 'At the Mountains of Madness' adaptation tells MTV News he can't reveal too much, adding, 'I have my eye on other actors.'
By Eric Ditzian

Guillermo del Toro
Photo: MTV News

"Who is Bilbo?"

That was the question we put to Guillermo del Toro again and again for easily two years, harassing the director for the identity of the actor to be cast as the star of "The Hobbit."

Del Toro left that film in May, but casting questions have only followed him to his latest project, an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's "At the Mountains of Madness." Rumors circulated earlier this month that del Toro and Universal are eyeing Tom Cruise or James McAvoy to star in the film.

When the director stopped by the MTV Newsroom last week, we asked him to address the talk, and had barely uttered Cruise's name before del Toro jumped in. "And James McAvoy," he said. "And next week it's going to be somebody else. I've gone through this in 'The Hobbit' week by week, where they would say David Tennant, Tobey Maguire. I truly don't want to go through it again with 'Mountains.' We haven't cast yet."

He did, however, mention a role he's written specifically for Ron Perlman, with whom he's collaborated on two "Hellboy" movies. But when it came to Cruise and McAvoy, all del Toro would say is "there is nothing tangible" with regard to casting. And as reluctant as he is to go through intense casting speculation again, the Mexican-born director realizes it comes with the territory.

"It's part of making movies that have a blissful, high visibility," he conceded. "Everyone has their own interpretation of Lovecraft, especially because of the ambiguity of his descriptions. You know you're going to disappoint some portion of the fans. You can only bet on your own instincts. For everyone that was supporting Martin Freeman [for Bilbo], there were people supporting James McAvoy or somebody else.

"I have my eye on other actors, some of them very unexpected," he added about "Mountains." "I think people will be surprised by every piece of casting in the movie. We will do unexpected stuff. If I was a fan, I would be speculating. In this movie, I'm a fan who unfortunately knows all the information."

Who would you like to see the "Mountains" role go to? McAvoy or Cruise? Let us know in the comments!

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