Guillermo del Toro, God love him, does not give up. On the same day we told you about big hopes to make Hellboy 3, Empire caught up with the Mexican wunderkind and, during their talk, learned that he’s not dropping plans to make his true passion project, At the Mountains of Madness.

You can understand why, too, and not just because it sounds like a great project; there was a lot of work funneled into this thing up to last March. So much so that del Toro called Universal’s axe “a soul-shattering experience” and “very debilitating moment,” what with it also being the nullification of various scripts, concept designs, location scouting, discussions, and so on. That’s what happens when a studio pulls the plug on something you’ve wanted to do all your life.

But, while the original reasons for cancellation were rooted directly in finance — Tom Cruise was going to star and James Cameron was going to produce, yet they still couldn’t get it together — del Toro told them he “think[s] we may still make it.” The identity of “we,” or the manner in which “we” could make it? Don’t ask. It might not be more than a pipe dream right now, but, as with Hellboy 3, the director might have to take what he can get on this front.

It should also be said that plot similarities between H.P. Lovecraft‘s original novella and Prometheus were a big incentive in Mountains not seeing the light of day; del Toro fully acknowledged this in his talk, saying “I go to the theatre, I buy my ticket for Prometheus and I go and see something else, because I’m afraid.” You know what else he might want to be afraid of? The slightly soft box office returns of Ridley Scott‘s movie. If those are any sign, there’s another… large, rocky surface to climb.

Do you think Mountains could ever come together?