'The Boy in the Iron Box': Another Reason I Can’t Resist del Toro’s Strange Magic

Following Guillermo del Toro’s career is a bit like chasing shadows through a snowstorm — you never know what shape they’ll take next, only that they’ll be worth the journey. So when news broke that The Boy in the Iron Box was set to start filming this October, I knew I had to follow the trail.

Netflix picked up the long-rumoured horror novella in May, and now it’s confirmed as a feature film. The plot is already chilling — a team of mercenaries crashes in the mountains and finds a stone fortress. It’s a freezing labyrinth, and something far worse than the cold lurks inside.

This isn’t just another del Toro project — it reunites him with co-writer Chuck Hogan, his partner on The Strain trilogy and The Hollow Ones. The source material consists of six interconnected stories, which should give the film a rich, layered texture rather than a straight-line narrative.

Del Toro’s work with Netflix has brought us the Oscar-winning Pinocchio and the soon-to-arrive Frankenstein. If Frankenstein becomes an awards contender, it could push The Boy in the Iron Box back — but for now, October is still the plan.

A snowbound nightmare, a fortress with no escape, and del Toro behind the wheel — it’s hard not to be intrigued. After all, his worlds rarely just scare you; they wrap you up in their strange beauty until you forget to come up for air.