You'd think that Guillermo Del Toro would be happy enough with the news that his pet project was going ahead. But now he's finally able to adapt H.P Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness, Del Toro's at loggerheads with Universal over who should star in it: James McAvoy or Tom Cruise.

Set in the 1930s, Lovecraft's novel sees geologist William Dyer uncover unspeakable and horrific things at the South Pole on an Antarctic expedition. A role that Chris Pine was also considered for, Del Toro seems keen on Cruise since they discussed the idea of a new version of Van Helsing.

Universal, meanwhile, want James McAvoy to take the lead, providing a younger face for the fantasy film. McAvoy is about to start filming with Matthew Vaughn as Professor Charles Xavier in X-Men: First Class. Cruise is soon to shoot Mission Impossible 4 (which will probably end up called something like Mission 4mpossible). Crucially, both actors would be available come May 2011, when Del Toro's production will kick off.

At the Mountains of Madness is being produced by James Cameron and will be shot in 3D. Expect him to weigh in at some point with his opinion and "blast" one of the actors. He seems to like blasting at the moment.