In March, we reported that Guillermo del Toro had signed on to write, direct, and produce an untitled Cold War drama with a supernatural twist for Fox Searchlight. The film was described as “a mysterious and magical journey set against the backdrop of Cold War-era America circa 1963 with an otherworldly love story at the center of it.” Octavia Spencer was also signed on to star in an unspecified role.
Now we might have some more details via The Tracking Board [via The Film Stage]. According to them, the title of the film is The Shape of Water, it will also star Sally Hawkins, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Richard Jenkins, and it has this plot synopsis:
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.
Del Toro loves his mixtures of real-world backdrops tinged with the supernatural, so this should be a terrific fit for the filmmaker. It also doesn’t hurt that he has top-notch acting talent. Hopefully, the Tracking Board’s report turns out to be true because this definitely sounds like something that’s close to del Toro’s best work a la Pan’s Labyrinth and The Devil’s Backbone.
If filming is set to begin later this year, then we’ll likely see this one sometime in 2017. Del Toro is also attached to direct a remake of Fantastic Voyage, and an adaptation of the horror novels Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.
