The cast for director Guillermo del Toro’s next film, the haunted house thriller Crimson Peak, just keeps getting better.  Emma Stone and Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy) are already set to lead the pic, and now none other than Benedict Cumberbatch has signed on to join the cast.  Plot details are being kept firmly under wraps, but the immensely talented del Toro previously described the project as “very set-oriented, classical but at the same time modern take on the ghost story. It will allow me to play with the conventions of the genre I know and love, and at the same time subvert the old rules.”  Hit the jump for more.

Artist Alex Ross has the rare gift to take superheroes—the gods of the modern day—and make them appear godlike.  His artwork is absolute stunning and sells in the thousands of dollars.  If you walk around the exhibitors’ floor at Comic-Con, his booth is as noticeable as the booths for Marvel and DC Comics.  At the WonderCon panel for Pacific Rim, writer-director Guillermo del Toro announced that Ross would be doing the cover art for the film’s prequel comic.

Speaking with Steve at WonderCon, del Toro talked about his involvement in the creation of the Pacific Rim prequel comic, and how he geeked out when he spoke with Ross to the point of being unable to give the beloved artist a note about the cover.  Hit the jump for the more, and click on the respective links for what del Toro had to say about Justice League Dark and his other upcoming projects like Pacific Rim 2.

Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures have gotten into the giant freaking monster business.  This summer, they’ll be releasing Guillermo del Toro‘s giant-monsters-vs-giant-robots blockbuster Pacific Rim, and in 2014 they’ll have Gareth Edwards‘ remake of Godzilla.  Since Godzilla’s purpose in life is to fight things (unless it’s the first one, Godzilla’s name should always be followed by “vs.”), why not a Godzilla vs. the giant robot Jaegers from Pacific Rim?

Hit the jump for del Toro speculating on a Godzilla vs. Jaeger battle, and how his Heavy Metal-influenced design on Pacific Rim probably wouldn’t match up with the reportedly more realistic approach Edwards is taking on Godzilla.  Also, click on the respective links for what del Toro had to say about Justice League Dark, and his other future projects like Pacific Rim 2.

Even though Pacific Rim will be Guillermo del Toro‘s first film in five years, he has attached himself to numerous projects both for movies and television.  Just to name a few that are still in development hell, he’s attached to The Haunted Mansion, The Incredible Hulk TV series, and Pinocchio.  And even though Pacific Rim has yet to hit theaters, del Toro and co-writer Travis Beacham are already set to write the sequel for Legendary Pictures.  Del Toro is also in pre-production on adapting his vampire novel trilogy The Strain for television, and is looking ahead to the haunted house feature, Crimson Peak starring Emma Stone and Charlie Hunnam.

Speaking with Steve and WonderCon, del Toro talked about the status of Pacific Rim 2, The Strain, Crimson Peak, how financing tends to determine his next project, writing the script to his indie feature Saturn and the End of Days, what happened to his animated adaptation of Pinocchio, and more.  Also, be sure to check out what del Toro had to say about Justice League Dark.

The strangeness of Warner Bros. trying to put together their superhero proprieties is perhaps best illustrated by the fact that Justice League Dark might hit the big screen before Justice League.  Granted, it might not be called “Justice League Dark” when it’s finally released (It’s also been referred to as “Heaven Sent” and “Dark Universe“), but it will be a band of DC Comics anti-heroes rather than the mainstream superheroes.  Guillermo del Toro is overseeing the development of the project as a possible directing vehicle, and recently spoke with Steve about it at WonderCon.

Hit the jump for what del Toro had to say about Justice League Dark, his reveal of another character on the team, his personal attachment to the material, the status of screenplay, and more.

At today’s WonderCon panel presentation for Warner Bros. film Pacific Rim, director Guillermo del Toro revealed a surprising amount of information on another of his upcoming projects, Dark Universe.  Also called Heaven Sent and, colloquially, Justice League Dark in previous reports, Dark Universe will feature a team up of such DC characters as Swamp Thing, Etrigan the Demon and John Constantine.  Del Toro talked about the progress of the film, the hiring of an as-of-yet unnamed writer, the lead characters and what elements of the DC comics the film plans to feature.  Hit the jump to see what he revealed.

Today at WonderCon, the Warner Bros. panel featured a presentation from Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim.  Not only did the visionary director debut a new trailer exclusively for the WonderCon crowd, he revealed an extensive amount of detail on the mythos of the world, its setting, the character backgrounds and even the origin of the Kaiju themselves.  For those of you who are already fans of Pacific Rim, they also shared a new image from the prequel graphic novel which will give further backstory on the movie’s characters.  In a surprise move, del Toro revealed quite a bit about the progress of his Dark Universe project, featuring such comic book characters as Swamp Thing, Etrigan the Demon and a blond John Constantine.

Pacific Rim, opening July 12th, stars Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Ron Perlman, Charlie Day and Clifton Collins Jr.  Hit the jump for our panel recap.

Although Warner Bros’. Justice League has had to go back to the drawing board, Guillermo Del Toro doesn’t mind the idea of pursuing Justice League Dark.  For those unfamiliar with the unconventional superhero team, the title launched in September 2011, and it’s comprised of John Constantine, Madame Xanadu, Deadman, Shade, Zatanna, Mindwarp, and Enchantress.  Del Toro tells Total Film, “I am going to be presenting my storyline to DC and Warners of where I want to take this universe. We do have a writer, but until that is firmed up, I have to keep it a secret. I hope it happens.”  While Total Film refers to the project as “Justice League Dark”, the project shares multiple characters with Heaven Sent, which we reported on back in November.  It’s likely that it’s the same project, but TF is probably referring to it as “Justice League Dark” since that’s the name of the comic book.

Hit the jump for more.  Del Toro’s new film, Pacific Rim, opens in 3D on July 12th.  He’s set the gothic haunted house film, Crimson Peak, as his follow-up.

When your movie is about massive robots fighting giant monsters, like Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim, of course you’re going to crank out related merchandise!  Get ready for toys and action figures, books, video games, clothes and Halloween costumes.  For starters, we have new images that preview two of the Jaeger toys to be released. You can check out new images and early reactions to the film here, plus the most recent trailer from CES 2013.  Starring Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Ron Perlman and Charlie Day, Pacific Rim opens July 12th.  Hit the jump to check out some preview images of the toys.

Add another project to Guillermo del Toro’s list of productions.  News has it that del Toro will produce a new adaptation of The Secret Garden, the 1911 novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett.  Universal won the rights to the story and has set Oscar-nominated screenwriter Lucy Alibar, who co-wrote Beasts of the Southern Wild, to pen the screenplay.  Before you even ask, no, it doesn’t look like del Toro will be directing, though he will work closely with Alibar and will reteam with Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark producer Mark Johnson.  Hit the jump for more details.

This time last week I was two movies into the triple feature I teased the last time we met. While I can’t say I was overly impressed by Gangster Squad, both Zero Dark Thirty and Django Unchained made their respective cases as qualified Best Picture nominees. Of the two, Zero Dark‘s unrelenting final act not only made it my top pick of the day but also provided some of the most sustained tension I can remember experiencing in a movie theater. Having now seen it for myself, I must say that I wholeheartedly agree with those who have voiced their disbelief at Kathryn Bigelow‘s Best Director Oscar snub.

Zero Dark Thirty praise aside, on tap in this week’s Top 5 are The Last Stand interviews with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Johnny Knoxville, and more, a live-action remake of Toy Story, a new trailer for Primer writer/director/star/almost literally everything else Shane Carruth‘s Upstream Color, Mama interviews with Guillermo del Toro and more, and all of our Sundance 2013 coverage to date. For your reading pleasure, a recap and link to each awaits after the jump.

Charlie Hunnam and director Guillermo del Toro must have had a great time working on Pacific Rim, because the two are already plotting another project together.  Variety reports that Hunnam is in negotiations to star in del Toro’s next directorial project, a gothic romance haunted house movie called Crimson Peak.  Just a few days ago we learned that Emma Stone had entered negotiations to star, so should his deal go through Hunnam would be starring opposite the Amazing Spider-Man actress.

Plot details on Crimson Peak are understandably being kept under wraps, but del Toro previously described the project as “very set-oriented, classical but at the same time modern take on the ghost story. It will allow me to play with the conventions of the genre I know and love, and at the same time subvert the old rules.”  Count us whole-heartedly in.  Production begins in February 2014 after del Toro wraps the pilot for the FX series The Strain.

From executive producer Guillermo del Toro and director Andy Muschietti comes the haunting supernatural thriller Mama, about two little girls who disappeared into the woods after their parents were killed, only to be rescued five years later.  As they begin a new life with their Uncle Lucas (Game of Thrones star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and his girlfriend, Annabel (Jessica Chastain), the couple begins to question how they could have survived all those years alone.  For more on the film, here are four clips.

At the film’s press day, Guillermo del Toro and Andy Muschietti talked about the choices that were made in the way the movie was shot, working with young actors in a film with darker subject matter, balancing reality and supernatural, and whether there was ever any resistance from the studio to the film’s ending.  Del Toro also talked about what attracts him to ghost stories, the type of ghost story that Crimson Peak (which he’ll direct) will be, whether 48 fps was ever part of the discussions he had with Peter Jackson when he was going to direct The Hobbit, and how he decides which projects to produce versus which projects to direct.  Check out what he had to say after the jump, and be aware that there are some slight spoilers.

We recently reported that Guillermo del Toro’s next directorial effort would be the haunted house picture, Crimson Peak.  Now, it looks as if the crimson-haired beauty Emma Stone may take on the leading role in the Legendary production.   Details on the project are slim, but del Toro did speak a bit about Crimson Peak in a recent video interview for his executive produced horror feature, Mama.  Variety reports that the deal is not yet official, but Stone is expected to star.  Stone, who appeared most recently in Gangster Squad, can next be heard in the animated DreamWorks picture, The Croods.  Stone is also expected to start filming The Amazing Spider-Man 2 for Sony later this year.

Guillermo del Toro may be the busiest man in Hollywood, but when he attaches his name to a project, you can bet safe money that it’s a worthwhile venture.  The latest example of this fact is the fantastic horror film Mama, executive produced by del Toro and based on a short film by Andres Muschietti.  The picture centers on two young sisters who are discovered alive and well in the woods after disappearing five years earlier.  When their uncle and his girlfriend bring the girls home to raise, they discover that something else has traveled home with them.  For more on the film, watch these four clips.

In a recent video interview, del Toro spoke about getting involved with the short film (which he calls, “Scary as fuck.”) in order to turn it into a feature.  He also talked about his favorite movie monsters, his preference of digital or practical effects and even gave an update on his next directorial effort, the haunted house story Crimson Peak.  Mama, starring Jessica Chastain, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Megan Charpentier and Isabelle Nélisse, opens January 18th.   Hit the jump to watch our video interview with del Toro.