Guillermo del Toro Just Cast Rupert Friend, Kevin Durand, Jaeden Martell in Netflix's The Boy in the Iron Box

Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan are taking their snowbound nightmare to Netflix, and the cast is already a good one: Rupert Friend, Kevin Durand, and Jaeden Martell are in. The project is an adaptation of their six-part serialized novel 'The Boy in the Iron Box' — originally published by Amazon Original Stories — and it sounds like survival horror with a very del Toro twist: a botched mission, a crash on a remote summit, wolves circling, and a fortress that should not be there.

Who is making it

David Prior is set to direct. He has history with del Toro — Prior shot the standout 'The Autopsy' episode of Netflix's Cabinet of Curiosities. Del Toro is producing here, and his Netflix dance card is busy: his take on Frankenstein is slated to hit the streamer in November. As for Hogan, this is a reunion too; he and del Toro previously turned their own trilogy into FX's The Strain.

The setup

The story follows a team of mercenaries on an unsanctioned job who survive a plane crash in whiteout conditions in the Tian Shan mountains. Liev, the team leader, tries to keep everyone alive while the bitter winds get worse, the wolves pick up their scent, and the only shelter in sight is an abandoned stone fortress that feels impossible — and wrong — for a peak this forsaken.

How the book breaks down

• Falling Down: The team hits the ground — literally — after the crash. They have no rescue coming, the cold is brutal, and the wolves are closing in. Liev rallies his survivors toward an ancient-looking stronghold that should not logically exist up there, hoping its walls mean safety. Spoiler: they do not.
• The Pit and the Box: Inside the ruin, they find a hidden pit, an iron box bound in chains, and a statue of a boy. Everyone is rattled and disoriented, and as night falls, the place starts offering answers no one wants.
• The Hunted: After someone vanishes in a way that makes no sense, Liev flips the script: use their training, hunt the threat. A small, bare footprint in the snow leads them deeper into the fortress’s mystery — and to the realization that they are the prey.
• Risen: Liev lays out the plan: get his men out of this ancient stone prison, take their chances with the wolves, and drop off the summit at first light. Survival sounds simple until a new twist reveals itself, and the mountain is no longer their only problem.
• Siege: Morale is shot, but Liev makes a promise to the team: no one gets left behind. He settles in for a last-stand night, ready to face everything he has been dreading. What shows up is nothing he expected.
• Encounter: In a chamber of stone, a calm, familiar young figure waits — and puts a choice to Liev that turns the whole ordeal into a final showdown between two men who make their living dealing death, each with his own agenda.

'Do you want to stop me?'

Cast, timing, and what to expect

Rupert Friend, Kevin Durand, and Jaeden Martell are aboard; roles are still under wraps. No premiere date yet, but given del Toro producing and Prior directing, expect something tight, cold, and mean — with a streak of old-world weirdness. Also, yes, it is a little funny that a series born as an Amazon Original Stories release is now getting the Netflix treatment. Hollywood loves a plot twist.

If you read 'The Boy in the Iron Box,' what are you hoping they keep intact for the adaptation?