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===''The Left Hand of Darkness''===
In 1994, del Toro began writing an adaptation of [[Alexandre Dumas]]'s ''[[The Count of Monte Cristo]]'' with [[L. M. Kit Carson]] and [[Matthew Robbins (screenwriter)|Matthew Robbins]], titled ''Montecristo'',<ref name="Variety2"/><ref>{{cite magazine|last=Petrikin|first=Chris|url=https://variety.com/1998/more/news/count-on-cristo-1117470915/|title=Count on 'Cristo'|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=May 17, 1998|access-date=October 11, 2024}}</ref> later renamed ''The Left Hand of Darkness''. His version was set in Mexico and was called a "[[steampunk]] [[Gothic fiction|gothic]] [[Western (genre)|western]]".<ref name="Marc Zicree 2013"/> According to del Toro, he met with [[Nicholas Cage]] to play the lead role.<ref>{{cite tweet|number=1045069572578009090|user=RealGDT|title=I met w Cage years ago- for the lead in MONTECRISTO. Loved him. A lobster dinner that lasted 4 hours. We spoke of silent films, mostly.|date=26 September 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite tweet|number=1418633283613519874|user=RealGDT|title=I have always loved Nic Cage- always. I almost did MONTECRISTO with him back in the day. I think he is not only the Paganini of expressionist actors, but an unrepeatable genius. All this to say that PIG (2021) is his most minimalistic, assured and moving one in years and years.|date=23 July 2021}}</ref> The screenplay was rewritten by del Toro at around the time his father was kidnapped and held for ransom, and he has since described it as having "a lot of rage."<ref>{{cite web|last=Warmoth|first=Brian|url=http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2009/02/24/guillermo-del-toro-hopes-to-visit-count-of-monte-cristo-with-gothic-western-twist/|title=Guillermo Del Toro Hopes To Visit 'Count Of Monte Cristo' With 'Gothic-Western' Twist|website=[[MTV News|MTV Movies Blog]]|date=February 24, 2009|access-date=April 27, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150927133801/http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2009/02/24/guillermo-del-toro-hopes-to-visit-count-of-monte-cristo-with-gothic-western-twist/|archive-date=September 27, 2015}}</ref> In 2000, the project was presumably moving forward with [[American Zoetrope]] producing, but it was put aside in favor of ''[[The Devil's Backbone]]'' and ''[[Blade II]]''. In 2002, del Toro provided further details on the film:
<blockquote>"It's a very gothic adaptation of the book. I've always thought that Dumas wanted to evoke the spirit of the ''[[One Thousand and One Nights]]'', his fascination for the [[Orient]]. Each adaptation was an [[adventure film]] or a classic movie without any invention, exoticism. So I wondered what would give this book adapted as a western [...] In the book, [[Edmond Dantès|the Count]] is often mentioned as a 'pirate', a 'vampire', a 'thief'. He's very dark. And in my adaptation, the Count only goes out at nights. He's very close to a [[Count Dracula|Dracula]] coming from a western, all dressed in black, red and gold. He has a mechanical arm that allows him to draw his gun faster than every one. [...] ''Monte Cristo'' will be a very catholic movie. [...] I've been trying to make this project for 10 years now. I always have these images with me. But the movie is so huge in my mind that I must find the perfect conditions to make it."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://legacy.aintitcool.com/node/12661|title=Guillermo Del Toro's Monte Cristo inspired project called THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS!|website=[[Ain't It Cool News]]|date=July 5, 2002|access-date=April 27, 2024}}</ref></blockquote>
He also described the film as being technically challenging in a 2008 interview with ''[[Den of Geek]]'':
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