Guillermo Del Toro seems so concerned about Ridley Scott’s “Prometheus” being similar to his (aborted?) version of H.P. Lovecraft’s “At The Mountains Of Madness,” that he appears to be considering abandoning what would be his passion project, a film that he has literally worked years to bring to the screen.

What I have to say is:  DO NOT DO IT!

I haven’t seen “Prometheus” yet (a deficit I intend to remedy this Saturday), but I have read Lovecraft’s short, and the role that alien beings play in the development of humanity is a relatively minor point, though that’s not to say that the screenplay written by Del Toro and Matthew Robbins may not have played up those particular elements.

So, let’s say that now “At The Mountains Of Madness” is somewhat similar to “Prometheus.”

If that happens to be the case:  So what, especially if Prometheus is as profitable as it appears that it might be.

Hollywood is notorious for capitalizing on successful films with imitators–which “At The Mountains Of Madness” isn’t since it has probably been some stage of development long before “Prometheus” was a glimmer in Scott’s eye–but I am sure that some will consider ‘Madness’ somewhat an also-ran.

Hey, if people are willing to see ‘Madness’ in enough numbers that it’s profitable, and it is presented in a manner that’s different from “Prometheus,”–which I am not sure how it can be otherwise–then who cares?

Besides, when ‘Madness’ was on the fast-track, they not only had Tom Cruise cast in the lead role–an A-list actor–but James Cameron producing, and he had released “Avatar” only a year or so ago, proceeded by “Titanic,” which meant that he was still one of the most successful directors on the planet.

And, looking at the worse case scenario, let’s say that ‘Madness’ tanks at the box office. Whichever studio finances the film would be losing somewhere in the ballpark of $200-250 million (including advertising), which isn’t chump-change.

Then again, Peter Berg‘s“Battleship” has a budget of $209 million (though that figure differs, based upon the source you reference.  It’s more likelier that it costs somewhere in the ballpark of $300 million dollars) and currently has earned almost $300 million, which isn’t that bad till you realize that it has earned the bulk of that in foreign receipts, while domestic box office is extremely weak.

So, Mr. Del Toro, if “At The Mountains Of Madness” is a film that you have had sleepless nights envisioning, and you manage to finagle the opportunity to produce it, then go for it because there’s plenty of room at the box office for another film that explores the origins of humanity that’s actually made for adults that happen to be older than 18-49 group that studios are so fond of.