Guillermo Del Toro talks Silent Hills Cancellation; he and Kojima still in touch

Filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro has had a tough time working with the games industry, with his first series inSANE cancelled when THQ shut their doors and now Silent Hills after the falling out between Hideo Kojima and Konami. With no one really talking about the project outside of Konami’s statement promising more games in the series, fans have been left to wonder what could have been and cling to the hope that a petition (currently sporting 137,615 signatures) will change Konami’s mind. As it turns out, Del Toro is in the same boat.

IGN spoke to Del Toro recently when interviewing him about his upcoming horror film, Crimson Peak. Just like we are, he’s pretty bummed about the whole thing.

“The collaboration between Kojima and myself, the meetings, and the friendship that was developing was beautiful. We had an agreement on where to go. We had an agreement on how we were going to push the new platforms. We were having a blast,” Del Toro told IGN.

“What we wanted to do with the game – and we were very much in agreement on this – was to take the technology and make it as cutting-edge as we could in creating terror in the house. The idea was very, very atmosphere-drenched.

“But what made Silent Hill so great was that you had the atmosphere but then you a pay-off with a very active, very intense series of moments. We wanted to do some stuff that I’m pretty sure – just in case it ever comes back, which honestly I would love for somebody to change their mind and we can do it – but in case it comes back there was some stuff that was very new, and I wouldn’t want to spoil it.

“Norman [Reedus, the Walking Dead actor who was attached to play the lead role] was super happy, Hideo was super happy, and so was I. I know there’s a petition going on the internet and it’s gathering signatures. I would add my signature to it, and hope that someone pays attention.”

In regards to how Konami not only delisted P.T. from PSN but also removed it entirely, Del Toro said the following: “Honestly that’s what surprised me. It was a sort of scorched earth approach. It was not a gentle and ambiguous cancellation.”

Del Toro in the past expressed how much of a fan of the Silent Hill series he is, and the fact that Silent Hills is no seems to have hit him hard as a fan, yet his passion for what could have been was noted by IGN’s Daniel Krupa during their interview. “[Silent Hill] hit me at the right time when I played the first one and the second. It’s a truly great mythology and too great a storytelling arena to let die. It’s too good.”

When asked about his thoughts on working on two now-cancelled video game projects, he told IGN “Well, you know, I’ve tried twice and I don’t know if I’ll ever come back to the form. In one instance, the company went down, and in the second, the completely unexpected happened, which was Kojima and Konami separating. It’s kind of left me reeling.”

But hope is not lost for Del Toro and Kojima’s collaboration potential, as the filmmaker has stated that the two remain “in touch”. “… he knows he would be the only guy I would follow to the ends of the earth on anything. I think if anything can be rescued, I will be more than happy.”

A silver lining to a sad ending? Maybe. There’s always Kickstarter.

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