Back in early 2009 (wow, was it really that long ago?) Andres Muschietti‘s chilling short film Mama hit the web and frightened a lot of people — enough people, in fact, to convince the powerful Guillermo del Toro that a feature-length project based on the short was worth producing.
Since that time, however, word on the project has died down, perhaps because del Toro was busy with a handful of upcoming projects, including Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, which del Toro both wrote and produced. Now looks like the time, though, for the momentum behind Mama to skyrocket once again, as it has been confirmed that Jessica Chastain (The Tree of Life, Take Shelter) will star in the title role. [Twitch]
The film will be backed by Universal International and is scheduled to begin filming in October. Co-producing with del Toro are David Linde (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Biutiful) and Russell Ackerman.
It’s a no brainer that they storyline behind the short will have to be ballooned for the feature-length format. Mama is a short film that has an effectiveness based on its constant atmospheric tension, so expanding it should be an interesting challenge for Muschietti.
What do you think of the casting of Chastain? Did you see the short film?