Guillermo del Toro hasn't had an easy time with At the Mountains of Madness, his long-planned adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's 1931 novella. The passion project, which has been in the works for more than a decade, fell apart last year at Universal Pictures after the studio balked at the idea of a $150 million R-rated film. However, del Toro soldiered on, pledging in June that, "I’m not giving up."

Some 10 months later, the filmmaker has changed his tune -- and it appears to be Ridley Scott's fault.

Writing recently on his website forum, del Toro explained that the premise of Prometheus is virtually the same as that of At the Mountains of Madness, which popularized the concept of ancient astronauts.

"Prometheus started filming a while ago -- right at the time we were in preproduction on Pacific Rim," he wrote. "The title itself gave me pause -- knowing that Alien was heavily influenced by Lovecraft and his novella. This time, decades later with the budget and place Ridley Scott occupied, I assumed the greek metaphor alluded at the creation aspects of the HPL book. I believe I am right and if so, as a fan, I am delighted to see a new RS science fiction film, but this will probably mark a long pause -- if not the demise -- of ATMOM. The sad part is -- I have been pursuing ATMOM for over a decade now -- and, well, after Hellboy II two projects I dearly loved were not brought to fruition for me.  The good part is: One project did ... And I am loving it and grateful for the blessings I have received."

Questioned by fans, del Toro added, "Same premise. Scenes that would be almost identical. [...] Both movies seem to share identical set pieces and the exact same BIG REVELATION (twist) at the end. I won't spoil it."

(via Collider)