When Guillermo del Toro's passion project 'At the Mountains of Madness' was killed by Universal last year, it seemed the director had given up hope. But not so fast, guys -- he says he's ready to try one more time.

Guillermo del Toro is a busy guy, often working on several projects in various states of development at any given time, but there was one project he had his heart set on: 'At the Mountains of Madness,' based on the classic H.P. Lovecraft story about a geologist who leads an expedition to Antarctica -- the ends of the Earth -- and the monsters they find there.

It sounded like perfect material for the director, but Universal deemed the rather expensive investment too risky, even with Tom Cruise's name attached.

In an interview with The Playlist, Del Toro says he hasn't quite given up yet:

I'm going to try it one more time. Once more into the dark abyss," he laughed. "We're gonna do a big presentation of the project again at the start of the year and see if any [studio's] interested." And yes, Tom Cruise is still game to be on board if they can find a home for it. "Yeah, Tom is still attached. I think it would be so fantastic to make it with him. He's been such a great ally of the project."

So Tom Cruise is still eager to star in the film if they can find the money to make it. We wonder if Del Toro has taken the project to Megan Ellison and Annapurna Pictures yet? Ellison backed 'The Master' and 'Zero Dark Thirty,' two 2012 pictures that garnered critical acclaim and awards buzz, but also risky projects that might not have been made without her financial backing.

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