5) Slaughterhouse-Five
The novel Slaughterhouse-Five is a true original: Part war story, part memoir, part pulp sci-fi packed with time travel and aliens. Basically, it tells the story of Billy Pilgrim, who comes “unstuck in time” and lives the events of his life in a random order – events including fighting in World War II and being abducted by extra-terrestrials.
Del Toro was attached to bring the novel to the screen back in 2011 but the project got stalled. It’s a shame, too, as he’d be a great fit for the material. After all, he has previously balanced the seriousness of war with a more fantastical narrative in the likes of Pan’s Labyrinth and The Devil’s Backbone.
What’s more, the movie’s script would have been written by Charlie Kaufman, who is likewise an expert at combining the absurd with the dramatic in films like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Adaptation.