Guillermo Del Toro has put his name on a few projects since his very public departure from The Hobbit, but it is now certain that his next project will be a 3D version of At The Mountains Of Madness for Universal, with James Cameron as producer.

Deadline has the exclusive:

I’m hearing he will next direct At The Mountains Of Madness, an adaptation of the HP Lovecraft tale that will be shot as a 3D film for Universal Pictures. The big surprise is that Avatar director James Cameron will come aboard as a producer. Del Toro was non-committal when I asked him about the prospect of Mountains days ago as we discussed the Comic-Con reaction to Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark. But when del Toro announced at Comic-Con he’d cowrite and produce Haunted Mansion, he told the crowd he’d set his next film shortly, and that it would be scary. At the Mountains of Madness fits that bill, even for del Toro and Universal. The film will be a big ticket item, shot in 3D where Cameron’s expertise can really help. Cameron has said he won’t put his name on many future movies outside of the 3D reboot of Fantastic Voyage at Fox, but I’ve heard he’s making an exception for del Toro. Cameron’s presence helped win over the studio. I’m told the film will begin pre-production in the next few weeks, and shoot next summer.

This is the my favorite piece of film news so far this year. Del Toro has spoken about doing At the Mountains Of Madness for some time, in fact I was upset he left the project to do The Hobbit. Lovecraft’s work is a cornerstone of horror, but has never been well translated to the big screen. I cannot think of a more appropriate man to bring us a (hopefully) good adaptation of Lovecraft’s work.

James Cameron only makes everything that much more exciting, especially considering the film will be in 3D. Can you imagine Avatar-level 3D images designed with Del Toro’s nuanced sense of the macabre floating past your eyes?

Neither can I, but I want it!

I’m also glad that Del Toro’s strengthening his relationship with Universal, who seem to be the only major studio producing good horror recently (Drag Me To Hell, anyone?). They should be commended for supporting such an ambitious and risky project.

Is anyone else nearly as pumped about this as I am?