Poll: Lost Guillermo del Toro movies

[TheButcher]

Hero Complex:
Comic-Con: Guillermo del Toro talks ‘Crimson Peak,’ ‘Pacific Rim 2′

Collider @ Comic-Con:
Guillermo del Toro Talks CRIMSON PEAK, the Horror of Gothic Romance, Taking a Painterly Visual Approach, Designing 3 Types of Ghosts, More

[TheButcher]

Warner Bros. Moves 'Sandman' to New Line as Part of DC Comics Shuffle

Dark, the adaptation, was to have been directed by Guillermo del Toro, but insiders say the filmmaker, who is working on a sequel to Pacific Rim even as he preps his gothic horror movie Crimson Peak, is no longer attached to the project.

[TheButcher]

{TB EXCLUSIVE} GUILLERMO DEL TORO DEVELOPING SECRET PROJECT AT FOX SEARCHLIGHT
The project is based on an original story from the cult director

Horror maestro and visionary genius Guillermo del Toro has another surprising project cooking in the pipeline. Fox Searchlight is producing the untitled original story, which is being kept very tightly under wraps.

Pitched as Wall-E meets Splash, the intriguing take was written by del Toro, and sees the Pacific Rim director also attached to helm. DanTram Nguyen and David Greenbaum are overseeing for Fox, while del Toro produces.

At first the project sounds like an unusual departure from the Hellboy director’s wheelhouse, as the writer/director is commonly known for his work in adult fantasy, horror, and action. However, del Toro also produced Fox’s animated adventure The Book of Life, which was aimed at a much younger audience, as well as DreamWorks’ Puss in Boots, Rise of the Guardians, and the Kung Fu Panda sequels.

Del Toro’s latest, Universal’s gothic horror Crimson Peak, bows October 16th and boasts an impressive cast consisting of Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Tom Hiddleston, and Charlie Hunnam. The Pan’s Labyrinth director is also in development on another project for Universal, a sequel to his acclaimed 2013 epic Pacific Rim, titled Pacific Rim 2: Maelstrom.

Del Toro’s also an emerging figure in television, having created FX’s vampire series The Strain, on which he also writes, directs, and executive produces. The Strain, which stars Corey Stoll, just wrapped up its sophomore season, with a third season slated to air in 2016.

Del Toro is also developing Amazon’s Killing on Carnival Row series, which centers on a human detective investigating a series of murders against fairies in a mystical city inhabited by both species. The project, which was previously set up as a feature at New Line and Warner Bros., sees the Mexican filmmaker writing, directing, and executive producing.

He’s repped by WME and Exile Entertainment.

[TheButcher]

Collider Exclusive JULY 9, 2014:
Guillermo del Toro Says He’s Shooting a Small, Black and White Film Before PACIFIC RIM 2; John Hurt May Star

While del Toro is planning on starting pre-production on Pacific Rim 2 next month, he told us that he’s actually scheduled a brief hiatus in which he will shoot a much smaller movie:

“Right away, in February/March I should [start on] another very small movie, black and white, really, really bizarre before starting—we start pre-production on Pacific Rim 2 in August, and then I interrupt it briefly to go into the first of next year to do this strange little movie, and then I restart it and go all the way until we start shooting Pacific Rim 2 at the end of 2015 for release in 2017.”

Del Toro was reluctant to reveal too much about the project, but he did say he already has cast in mind:

“It’s a very small cast. I would love to have John Hurt, and there’s an actress that I have in mind that is not well-known but I’ve seen her in a short film. That’s all she’s really done, one feature and one short, but she has an incredibly interesting taste and I’m gonna try her out for the main role.”

When asked whether or not this new film fits into his previous filmography, he offered this brief, tantalizing tease:

“There’s one great creature in it.”

Del Toro confirmed that the project does have a title, but he’d rather the finished film speak for itself instead of divulging too much beforehand:

“It does [have a title], but I find—I’d rather do the projects and then show them to people than talk about them. I think that it’s going to be a nice thing for people to know which one is it and where it came from when it’s a reality.”

[TheButcher]

/film:
Cool Stuff: In Service of Monsters: A Guillermo Del Toro Art Show Tribute

[TheButcher]

Guillermo del Toro’s B&W Indie Film Involves Mexican Wrestler and Vampire Politicians

According to The Guardian, the project is called “Silva”, and it’s “about a Mexican masked wrestler who discovers that all politicians are vampires.” Del Toro has dealt with vampires since his first movie, Cronos, which co-opts vampire mythology for a story about a man who discovers a device that grants immortality but requires human blood to function. The director has also included bloodsuckers in Blade II and The Strain TV series, the latter of which was based on a trilogy of novels he co-wrote with Chuck Hogan.

While the director certainly has a fascination with vamps, it’s the setting on Silva that makes it intriguing since del Toro has described himself as in “involuntary exile” from his home country of Mexico. For those who don’t know, Del Toro’s father was kidnapped by bandits and held for ransom for 72 days in 1998, and the director feels that it’s not safe for him and his family to live in his native country anymore.

We don’t typically associate del Toro with “political” films, but his movies are always deeply personal, and it sounds like Silva will be no different in that regard. Although I’m excited for Pacific Rim 2, this setup for Silva sounds more exciting because it seems so different for del Toro and yet familiar enough that he could provide yet another fresh spin to the vampire genre.

[TheButcher]

Guillermo del Toro: ‘I try to tell you a story with eye-protein, not eye-candy’
In his new film, Crimson Peak, the Mexican director pays homage to the gothic romance. Here, he talks about about how he brings together pulp comic illustration and Romantic art to bring his ‘childhood imaginarium’ to life

“Do you believe in evil?” I ask Guillermo del Toro. He doesn’t even have to think about it. “Human evil? Yes. I think that evil is a spiritual engine in our world, our lives, our universe, that functions in order to create good,” he says. “And it is necessary, an essential part of the cycle of construction and destruction. But I do not believe in it as a sentient force. I do not believe there’s a guy in red goat-feet planning on my demise. And I don’t believe there is a guy rooting for me up in some cloudscape. I believe that we, every day, 24-7, all the days of our lives, we are all of us agents of construction and agents of destruction. That’s how I believe in evil.”

Evil is much in the air, along with a good deal of destruction, in Del Toro’s new movie, Crimson Peak, a richly conceived gothic horror-romance for adults, which Stephen King has already called “gorgeous and just fucking terrifying”. Set somewhere around 1860-70 in a remote and mountainous part of Cumbria, it’s a haunted-house movie dressed up to the nines, teeming with references to landmarks in the genre, from Robert Wise’s The Haunting to Jack Clayton’s The Innocents and Hitchcock’s Rebecca, and drawing visually on rich seams of 19th-century illustrations and paintings, and the literary highlights of the gothic romance genre, from Thomas Love Peacock and Anne Radcliffe to Daphne du Maurier.

[so sorry]

Guillermo del Toro: ‘I try to tell you a story with eye-protein, not eye-candy’
In his new film, Crimson Peak, the Mexican director pays homage to the gothic romance. Here, he talks about about how he brings together pulp comic illustration and Romantic art to bring his ‘childhood imaginarium’ to life

“Do you believe in evil?” I ask Guillermo del Toro. He doesn’t even have to think about it. “Human evil? Yes. I think that evil is a spiritual engine in our world, our lives, our universe, that functions in order to create good,” he says. “And it is necessary, an essential part of the cycle of construction and destruction. But I do not believe in it as a sentient force. I do not believe there’s a guy in red goat-feet planning on my demise. And I don’t believe there is a guy rooting for me up in some cloudscape. I believe that we, every day, 24-7, all the days of our lives, we are all of us agents of construction and agents of destruction. That’s how I believe in evil.”

Evil is much in the air, along with a good deal of destruction, in Del Toro’s new movie, Crimson Peak, a richly conceived gothic horror-romance for adults, which Stephen King has already called “gorgeous and just fucking terrifying”. Set somewhere around 1860-70 in a remote and mountainous part of Cumbria, it’s a haunted-house movie dressed up to the nines, teeming with references to landmarks in the genre, from Robert Wise’s The Haunting to Jack Clayton’s The Innocents and Hitchcock’s Rebecca, and drawing visually on rich seams of 19th-century illustrations and paintings, and the literary highlights of the gothic romance genre, from Thomas Love Peacock and Anne Radcliffe to Daphne du Maurier.

Meh. None of the trailers I've seen lead me to believe this is a true horror(scary) movie. Nor does it look like a drama dressed up in halloween clothes. It just looks like, well like Hellboy with a serious tone set to period victorian era.

[Ribbons]

I'm looking forward to Crimson Peak just because I love Guillermo del Toro, but I'm a little concerned that it comes out on Friday and there are no reviews online yet.

[TheButcher]

Guillermo Del Toro's CRIMSON PEAK blew Harry's crimson peak!!!

Hey folks, Harry here... Before reading this review, realize, while I don't give specific spoilers from the film outright, I do make reference to classic films and their plotlines which are at times similar to things happening in Del Toro's CRIMSON PEAK. Suffice to say, this is a Gothic Romance littered with Suspense, Horror & Adventure. It is an elder tale and that's just fine, but this review is best saved til that future time when you can read this with no fears of spoilers. Thanks for reading...

Moriarty:
Review: 'Crimson Peak' gives voice to both halves of Guillermo Del Toro's brain

[TheBaxter]

HARRY really likes a Guillermo del Toro movie?

never would have seen that one coming.

[Spandau Belly]

I thought CRIMSON PEAK was actually pretty good. It is very predictable, but I still enjoyed watching it play out because of how stylish the execution was. I can see how this movie might leave a lot of people unsatisfied. Like people who went to see TITANIC for a disaster movie spectacle, got it, but still felt annoyed that they had to sit through an hour of romance first. People who just want endless ghost house stuff will probably be annoyed by the amount of interpersonal melodrama here.

I wish the ghosts had been more visually present during the climax. The film tells us point blank several times that this isn't a ghost story, it's just a story that happens to have ghosts in it. But still, the ghosts are a lot of fun to look at and it's not like they don't have a stake in how this story resolves itself, even if it is resolved among the living characters. The ghosts are mostly people who've been murdered by the main villain, so they'd probably want to see her get her punishment. So I would've liked it if they had come back at the end.

This film also features Chastain as you've never seen her before. I know a lot of people give her a hard time and say all she does as an actress is gaze off into the distance with a look that's supposed to be meaningful, but she's really a lot of fun to watch going full sinister here. I think the last minute recasting really helped the movie. I probably would've had trouble accepting Emma Stone in this, she's just a little too goofy. Wasikowska was definitely a better fit. And Benedict Cumberbatch probably could've handled the role, but maybe come across as too sympathetic too soon, I think Hiddlestron was also the superior choice.

The production design is king here, and this ghost mansion is one of the most amazing sets I've ever seen in my life. I loved exploring this place.

At two hours, the film certainly doesn't overstay its welcome. It never became repetitious and it kept moving, and even though a lot of it was predictable it got there fast enough that I never resented it for being obvious.

[Ribbons]

I liked Crimson Peak too. I would've preferred it if Chastain killed herself at the end. Thoughts?

[Spandau Belly]

That probably would've had more dramatic weight than bashing her head in with a shovel and then spouting a one-liner. That kinda felt like more of a Sam Raimi gag kill.

[so sorry]

That probably would've had more dramatic weight than bashing her head in with a shovel and then spouting a one-liner. That kinda felt like more of a Sam Raimi gag kill.

So for those of us (me) who will most likely never see this, can you tell me what the one liner was?

[Ribbons]

Jessica Chastain with an axe and Mia Wasikowska with a shovel. Chastain says "I won't stop until you kill me or I kill you." After a little bit of fighting Chastain again says "I won't stop until you kill me or I kill you." Wasikowska bashes her head in, then says "I heard you the first time!"

[so sorry]

Jessica Chastain with an axe and Mia Wasikowska with a shovel. Chastain says "I won't stop until you kill me or I kill you." After a little bit of fighting Chastain again says "I won't stop until you kill me or I kill you." Wasikowska bashes her head in, then says "I heard you the first time!"

Sick burn bro.

[TheButcher]

{EXCLUSIVE} RICHARD JENKINS IN TALKS TO JOIN GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S COLD WAR LOVE STORY “THE SHAPE OF WATER”
The Oscar-nominee is circling Del Toro’s Cold War-era fairytale about a woman who falls for an amphibious man.

Richard Jenkins is in talks to star in Crimson Peak director Guillermo Del Toro‘s otherworldly Cold War love story, THE SHAPE OF WATER. Jenkins would be joining Sally Hawkins in the previously untitled project, which is being written by Del Toro for Fox Searchlight. Octavia Spencer and Michael Stuhlbarg are also in negotiations to star.

While details have long been kept under wraps, we’re hearing that the fairytale, set in 1963, centers around Elisa (Hawkins), a mute janitor working at a lab where an amphibious man is being held captive. When Elisa falls in love with the creature, she devises a plan to help him escape with the assistance of her neighbor (Jenkins). The world outside of the lab, however, may prove to be more dangerous for the amphibious man than Elisa could have anticipated.

The film is being produced by Del Toro and Callum Greene. Liz Sayre is the production executive for Fox Searchlight, while David Greenbaum will oversee for the studio.

The story has elements that fans of Del Toro should recognize, namely the incorporation of fantastical elements into a specific time and place in the real world. Pan’s Labriynth, for example, saw an imaginative young girl escaping into the world of a fairytale amid the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War. The ‘amphibious man’ character, meanwhile, echoes Abe Sapien, the amphibious sidekick portrayed by Doug Jones and David Hyde Pierce in Del Toro’s Hellboy.

Jenkins, who was previously nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars for his performance in The Visitor, is best known for his roles in HBO’s Six Feet Under and Olive Kitteridge, comedies like Step Brothers and Burn After Reading, and genre films like Cabin the Woods and Jack Reacher. He’ll next be seen in Rob Reiner’s LBJ.

[TheButcher]

Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Trollhunters’ Casts Ron Perlman, Kelsey Grammer, and Anton Yelchin
The DreamWorks Animation series arrives on Netflix this December.

[TheButcher]

Doug Liman to Direct 'Justice League Dark' for Warner Bros.
'X-Men' Spinoff 'Gambit' Loses Its Director (Exclusive)
'Justice League Dark': The History (and Prehistory) of DC's Supernatural Spinoff

[TheButcher]

Guillermo del Toro Begins Filming ‘The Shape of Water’, Why You Should Be Excited

[TheButcher]

‏@RealGDT

Wrapped shooting on The Shape of Water last night!!

[TheButcher]

Collider:
Guillermo del Toro’s Stop-Motion Movie ‘Pinocchio’ Adds ‘Over the Garden Wall’ Creator

[TheButcher]

io9:
Guillermo del Toro Finally Admits Hellboy 3 Is Never Ever Happening

[Wolfpack]

Noooooo!

[TheButcher]

Collider:
Guillermo del Toro Explains Why He Didn’t Direct ‘Pacific Rim 2’

[TheButcher]

Guillermo Del Toro’s Got Ideas For A STAR WARS Movie
Guillermo del Toro pitches his "Jabba-as-Godfather" idea

[Wolfpack]

del Toro & Star Wars. I like that combination.

[Ribbons]

del Toro & literally anything. I like that combination.

Fixed that for you

[Wolfpack]

del Toro & literally anything. I like that combination.

Fixed that for you

Ah. I must have been typing too fast.

[TheButcher]

Guillermo del Toro’s ‘The Shape of Water’ Gets Release Date(December 8, 2017) and New Synopsis

From master story teller Guillermo del Toro, comes THE SHAPE OF WATER – an other-worldly fairy tale, set against the backdrop of Cold War era America circa 1963. In the hidden high-security government laboratory where she works, lonely Elisa (Sally Hawkins) is trapped in a life of silence and isolation. Elisa’s life is changed forver when she and co-worker Zelda (Octavia Spencer) discover a secret classified experiment. Rounding out the cast are Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Michael Stuhlbarg and Doug Jones.

[Wolfpack]

Guillermo del Toro’s ‘The Shape of Water’ Gets Release Date(December 8, 2017) and New Synopsis

From master story teller Guillermo del Toro, comes THE SHAPE OF WATER – an other-worldly fairy tale, set against the backdrop of Cold War era America circa 1963. In the hidden high-security government laboratory where she works, lonely Elisa (Sally Hawkins) is trapped in a life of silence and isolation. Elisa’s life is changed forver when she and co-worker Zelda (Octavia Spencer) discover a secret classified experiment. Rounding out the cast are Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Michael Stuhlbarg and Doug Jones.

That.....sounds awesome.

[TheButcher]

'Hellboy' Reboot in the Works With 'Stranger Things' Star David Harbour
Millennium is in negotiations with producers Larry Gordon and Lloyd Levin for a new installment.

[TheButcher]

SHH:
Comic-Con Exclusive: Guillermo del Toro’s Dark Universe Will be Separate from Other DC Projects… for Now

The Bride of Frankenstein is the next film in what is now officially the "Dark Universe."

Doug Liman Drops out of ‘Justice League Dark Universe’; Warner Bros. Eyeing ‘It’ Helmer Andres Muschietti
Scheduling issues strike again.

[TheBaxter]

i can't wait for Frankenstein vs. Dracula: Dawn of Dark

[TheButcher]

Annecy: Guillermo del Toro Talks Creative Freedom With Netflix, the Future of 'Hellboy'
The director also talked possible 'Pinocchio' plans and giving up his salary for the upcoming 'Shape of Water' during a master class at the animation festival.

i can't wait for Frankenstein vs. Dracula: Dawn of Dark

Universal’s Dark Universe: Where Do We Go From Here?
How Universal can save their shared universe.

The Mummy could have been Blade, but with mummies. Instead it was Blade: Trinity, but with mummies – and baby, that’s just no good.

[TheButcher]

/film:
Guillermo del Toro Reminisces About Turning Down ‘Harry Potter’

I always loved the books, and I think, often, that world, those actors was amazing. I really think about that one, not with regret, but with great curiosity, because I love them. The first two books were a revelation. When I didn’t take the third one, I was reacting more to the two movies that came first, and I felt the tone was much lighter than the books. I thought the books had almost a more Dickensian pathos and I was very afraid of going into an experience where the tonal shift was going to be so big at that scale. I was timid.

[Peven]

/film:
Guillermo del Toro Reminisces About Turning Down ‘Harry Potter’

I always loved the books, and I think, often, that world, those actors was amazing. I really think about that one, not with regret, but with great curiosity, because I love them. The first two books were a revelation. When I didn’t take the third one, I was reacting more to the two movies that came first, and I felt the tone was much lighter than the books. I thought the books had almost a more Dickensian pathos and I was very afraid of going into an experience where the tonal shift was going to be so big at that scale. I was timid.

I'm glad del Toro didn't direct it, I really enjoyed the work Cuaron did instead, I wish Cuaron had directed all of them, "Prisoner of Azkaban" is my favorite HP movie. Newell was good, too, I really liked "Goblet of Fire" though readers of the books that I know really didn't like the changes made in that one

[Ribbons]

I'm glad del Toro didn't direct it, I really enjoyed the work Cuaron did instead, I wish Cuaron had directed all of them, "Prisoner of Azkaban" is my favorite HP movie.

Agreed.

Newell was good, too, I really liked "Goblet of Fire" though readers of the books that I know really didn't like the changes made in that one

Eh...

[Wolfpack]

Oh, fuck it - I'll come right out and say it. I'm tired of living this lie.

I have never seen a Harry Potter Movie

[TheButcher]

Oh, fuck it - I'll come right out and say it. I'm tired of living this lie.

I have never seen a Harry Potter Movie

[TheButcher]

[Ribbons]

I don't know quite yet what to make of this. It looks like a hodgepodge of different genres, which is something that Del Toro typically does well, but it's also a tad jarring to see in teaser form. It's like Abe Sapien wandered into Amelie and then time-traveled back to the Cold War. On the other hand, I'm a GDT whore and will probably see this opening weekend.

[Peven]

looks beautiful, visually and otherwise....

[TheButcher]

THR AUGUST 31, 2017:
After its Venice debut, critics are in love with the latest movie from Guillermo del Toro.

THR AUGUST 31, 2017:
'Shape of Water': Guillermo del Toro on Why America Needs a Cold War Fairy Tale Today

Thus far into the Venice Competition, no one has received longer or louder applause than Guillermo del Toro and his new romance fantasy film, The Shape of Water. Already tipped to be a top contender during awards season, the film has been a hit with critics and audience-goers alike.

Set during the Cold War, the movie centers on Elisa (Sally Hawkins) as a mute cleaning woman who falls in love with an aquatic monster (Doug Jones) that the U.S. government is holding captive. Government agents led by Strickland (Michael Shannon) believe the creature and its complex breathing system may hold the key to beating the Russians in the space race. Octavia Spencer and Richard Jenkins play Elisa's similarly lonesome friends who help her on her mission to protect the creature from the Strickland's increasingly malicious plans.

If fairy tales are generally written in times of great trouble, it's no accident that del Toro has made his latest film for 2017, a year he believes is in great need of a strong fairy tale. "The movie is an antidote to now," the director told The Hollywood Reporter. "It's so difficult to talk about love and not sound silly, but I do believe the antidote to what we are living, which is a time full of hatred and division, is this humanistic possibility."

Despite taking place during the Cold War, critics have noted that the film feels very much in the present day, and not just because Russia is again a new headline. "It's really a movie about now, and '62 is very important because when Americans talk about making America great again, I think they are dreaming of that era," he said. "1962 is a moment when America is believing in the future. Everything is about the future: Everything is about the space race, the cars have jet fins, the kitchen and house are all modern. The way the wife is presented is super pristine, and neighborhoods are modern. Everything is about the future."

Del Toro believes it's important to show that this dream was for only a select group of Americans and thus was impossible to achieve. "You have John F. Kennedy in the White House. It's Camelot. It's a golden moment in America, and then Kennedy is shot. They continue Vietnam and then comes the disillusionment," he said. "So I think it's the last moment when America believes in a dream that never quite crystallized. I think it's important to show that [despite] the promise that existed in 1962, racism, sexism, all of that is still happening now."

Del Toro makes his Venice comeback after his fellow three amigos found great Oscar success with Lido launches: Alfonso Cuaron with Gravity and Alejandro Inarritu with Birdman. But despite the external success, del Toro noted that things are not always as easy as they seem. "I can tell you our careers look one way from the outside and another way from the inside. It's been very hard, and nothing has happened easily," he explained. "Alfonso doing Gravity was incredibly difficult, and politically very difficult. I would love the myth that anything has been easy, but it's been really, really hard. Alfonso, many, many, many times in Gravity, he took technology and pushed it 10 years. The technology that was developed to do Gravity didn't exist. It was made by Alfonso and Emmanuel [Lubezki]."

For del Toro, every film is still a struggle to finance. "I never make it easy on myself. I wish I did. There is a gene in my DNA that makes things very complicated," he said. "When they say, 'What is your next movie about? It needs to be something really, really, really great.' I don't say, 'Well, it's an action movie about car thieves,' or 'It's a horror movie about a living doll.' It's never that simple. I need to say, 'Well, it's a Cold War fairy tale about a woman falling in love with a creature.' It's like, 'Oh, really? Good luck.' It's never easy, but I think the things that make them hard to finance or get off the ground are what makes them interesting. This movie took six years. Hellboy, which is as personal for me as anything else, eight years. Devil's Backbone, 10 years. So you wait for the unsuspecting financier to give you money."

Highly anticipated del Toro project Pinocchio has been in the works for over a decade. And although the puppets and designs are ready to go, he is still waiting for the financing. "It's Pinocchio the way [Carlo] Collodi wrote it but against the rise of Mussolini's fascism," he said. "So it's not easy. I tell you there is always one thing where I fuck it up."

VARIETY AUGUST 31, 2017:
With ‘The Shape of Water,’ Guillermo del Toro Realizes a Lifelong Monster Dream

[TheButcher]

VARIETY SEPTEMBER 3, 2008:
Guillermo Del Toro booked thru 2017

Universal — which has a three-year first-look deal with the helmer inked in June ’07 — and del Toro are making a long-term commitment by setting up four directing projects, including remakes of “Frankenstein,” “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” and “Slaughterhouse-Five.”

The fourth project is an adaptation of “Drood,” a Dan Simmons novel acquired by U that will be published in February by Little, Brown.

Of course, del Toro’s first priority is New Line and MGM’s “The Hobbit,” to which he has committed the next five years. He has begun writing “Hobbit” with Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, collaborating via video conferencing and trips to New Zealand every three weeks.

In addition to the four pics, the studio still has its sights set on del Toro’s pet project, an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s “At the Mountains of Madness.”

U production prexy Donna Langley said the helmer’s “Hobbit” hiatus will only delay plans to dive into the del Toro business.

“We came out the other side of some tough conversations with a stronger bond and sense of long-term commitment,” Langley said. “Guillermo is in the most prolific time of his life … Joe Johnston on ‘The Wolf Man’ showed us the importance of entrusting the Universal franchise monsters to experienced filmmakers with voices. That was a big impetus for our decision to go with Guillermo to put his creative stamp on these properties.”

Frankenstein represents a longtime fascination for del Toro, who has made his home a memorabilia shrine to the Karloff monster from the 1931 U film.

Frankenstein represents a longtime fascination for del Toro, who has made his home a memorabilia shrine to the Karloff monster from the 1931 U film.

VARIETY OCTOBER 27, 2017:
Guillermo del Toro Discusses Upcoming Projects, Taking a Year Off as a Director

Del Toro also spoke about his B&W movie project “Silver,” which is acquiring the status of legend, without having acquired the form of a film. The story of a masked Mexican wrestler who discovers all politicians are vampires and sets out to slay them – surely a popular contemporary theme – del Toro had “Silver’s” screenplay half-written when he abandoned Mexico for Toronto. Years later, it still isn’t finished.

Del Toro has a “personal commitment” to finish the screenplay, he said in Morelia. Alfonso [Cuarón] is giving me a really hard time on this: ‘Any chance you’ll finish the screenplay?’”

And, referring to his more immediate plans, “I’m taking a sabbatical for a year as a director. I was going to do ‘Fantastic Voyage,’ but after ‘The Shape of Water’ I need to take pause.”

[TheButcher]

COLLIDER APRIL 6, 2017:
Guillermo del Toro Explains Why He Didn’t Direct ‘Pacific Rim 2’

So why did del Toro merely produce Pacific Rim: Uprising and not direct? When the filmmaker sat down with Collider’s own Perri Nemiroff for an exclusive interview about his Netflix series Trollhunters and much more for Collider Nightmares, she asked him exactly this, and the filmmaker revealed that it all had to do with timing:

“The timing started to suck. I had this little movie that I wanted to do—The Shape of Water—very, very much. At one point it was Justice League Dark or Pacific Rim, I said, ‘Let’s go to Pacific Rim.’ The reality is they said, ‘We’re gonna need to postpone,’ because they were changing hands—Legendary was going to be sold to China, to a Chinese company [called the Wanda Group]. They said, ‘We’ve gotta wait nine months’ and I said, ‘I’m not waiting nine months, I’m shooting a movie,’ and I went and shot [The Shape of Water] and we chose Steven DeKnight.”

SCREENRANT 01/03/2017:
Guillermo del Toro Reveals Why He’s Not Directing Pacific Rim 2

Guillermo del Toro reveals why he’s not directing Pacific Rim 2 as well as how much he was involved with the film. The acclaimed filmmaker directed 2013’s Pacific Rim for Legendary and Universal Pictures, based on a screenplay he co-wrote with Clash of the Titans‘ Travis Beacham. The film – starring Charlie Hunnam as Raleigh Beckett, Idris Elba as General Stacker Pentecost, and Rinko Kikuchi as Mako Mori, among others – released to generally positive reviews from critics, but the movie didn’t earn enough money at the worldwide box office to immediately justify a sequel.

In 2014, del Toro officially confirmed plans not only to develop Pacific Rim 2 but also an animated series that would bridge the gap between the first and second installments. Unfortunately, as with many del Toro projects, Pacific Rim 2 started to fall by the wayside. And so, del Toro stepped away from the director’s chair and allowed Spartacus creator and Daredevil season 1 showrunner Steven S. DeKnight to take over directing duties. Still, despite departing the project relatively early on, del Toro remained partially involved with the production.

In an interview with KCRW for his latest film, The Shape of Water, Guillermo del Toro mentions just how involved he was with DeKnight’s Pacific Rim Uprising. He said:

“I prepped my version of Pacific Rim 2, which was I developed the screenplay, I storyboarded and designed the creatures and the robots and all that. And then that suspension of six months, I left and helped select the new director, Steven DeKnight, and that was about it.”

While Guillermo del Toro still had some semblance of involvement with Pacific Rim 2, it’s not as much as he initially hoped. It’s widely known that del Toro left the film to make The Shape of Water, which is earning him critical acclaim. But what’s interesting is that he chose to leave the project in the first place because of that six-month suspension, which was due to another film taking Pacific Rim 2‘s spot.

“…You have a thing called a hold on the stages. When you get a hold on Pinewood Studios, they hold the stages for you. But if somebody challenges you, which, in this instance, was xXx 3 – the one with Vin Diesel. They came in and challenged us. And Legendary [Pictures] said we’re not going to challenge that, and that meant delaying the movie at least six or seven months.”

It appears that del Toro was almost ready to begin shooting Pacific Rim 2 when xXx: Return of Xander Cage contested the hold. Since del Toro didn’t want to wait around for six months to start filming, he exited the project and began working on The Shape of Water instead. In fact, he says that his friends and fellow directors, Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity, Harry Potter) and Alejandro Iñárritu (Birdman, The Revenant), helped convince himself to abandon the sequel and pursue Shape of Water. Considering how much praise he’s getting for the 2017 film, it seems he made the right decision.