Guillermo del Toro is going to co-write and produce the adaptation of Alvin Schwartz’s children book series of the 1980s and 90s. Entertainment One and CBS Films will co-finance the project. del Toro wrote the story along with Daniel Hageman and Kevin Hageman. Norwegian director André Øvredal, best known for 2016’s highly acclaimed The Autopsy of Jane Doe, will direct the film.
The Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, known for making visually rich movies that use supernatural and fantastical creatures to tell the story, won his first Oscar for Best Director for The Shape of Water earlier this year. His work is characterised by unlikely beauty and he likes to turn classical fairy tale tropes on their head. His The Shape of Water, starring Sally Hawkins and Michael Shannon, won a total of four trophies including Best Picture, Best Production Design and Best Original Score categories. del Toro is also known for directing Pan’s Labyrinth, Pacific Rim, and Hellboy.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the adaptation of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark will tell the story of a group of teenagers who solve the gruesome murders in their town. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark has a total of three books, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (1981), More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (1984), and Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones (1991).
The stories draw quite a bit from folklore and American urban legends and have been incredibly popular with the young and the old alike ever since they were published.
