One of the shirts given away at last weekend’s Comic-Con features a mysterious black and white image of what appears to be a Spanish conquistador and, on the back, Guillermo del Toro’s name and signature alongside the Legendary Pictures logo.
The image, illustrated by comic book artist Tim Bradstreet, also appears on the artist’s Facebook page with the tile El Guerrero (as seen below), though it is unknown if this is the name of the property of simply the title of the piece.
Though del Toro’s schedule is one of the busiest in Hollywood, the only recent connection to Legendary dates back to 2008 when director Scott Derrickson reported that that he was going to talk with del Toro about his own project, an adaptation of the 17th century John Milton poem, Paradise Lost.
Paradise Lost would certainly fit the era, though there is little in the original text to suggest conquistadors. The balance of God’s Cross and Satan’s Ram, however, does fit the theme. A sword is also prominent in the Milton verse, though it is iconic for being aflame, which this one is not.
Another image on Bradstreet’s Facebook depicts, in a very similar style, Elric of Melnibone, a popular fantasy series from the early 1960’s. Along with the image is the message, “With all apologies to Guillermo, Mike, and Luke ;)”. Could Legendary be developing the series for a film adaptation or is this second image a red herring?
Del Toro is next expected to begin work on The Haunted Mansion. We’ll bring further word on what this image might represent as details become available.
