Guillermo Del Toro's The Shape of Water is one of the most talked about movies of the season, with many proclaiming it a masterpiece on par with Pan's Labyrinth. While Oscar nominations appear to be in Del Toro's future, what isn't for the time being is another directing project, because he's going to be taking a break for a while.
Del Toro opened up to journalists in Mexico and revealed that he's taking a year off from directing...
“I’m taking a sabbatical for a year as a director,” del Toro said. “I was going to do ‘Fantastic Voyage,’ but after ‘The Shape of Water’ I need to take pause.”
No doubt, directing a major, special effects-heavy film like that then embarking on a hectic marketing/awards campaign can be exhausting. But don't think that he'll just be sitting on the couch watching TV. He's got a number of producing projects in the works, including one from The 33 and Under the Same Moon director, Patricia Riggen. Hopefully he gets around to Silver, the film about a Mexican luchadore who discovers that all politicians are vampires. I need that movie in my life.
It'll be interesting to see if Del Toro is still involved with Fantastic Voyage when he's ready to return. That project has been on delay for so long waiting another year shouldn't be an issue, but we'll see.
The Shape of Water opens December 1st. [Variety]
