By now, you will have no doubt heard the news that Guillermo del Toro, the illustrious filmmaker behind Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth and Pacific Rim, plans to take a year off from directing following the launch of his long-brewing Cold War fantasy pic, The Shape of Water.
It’s a huge decision on del Toro’s part, who is widely considered to be one of the most prolific filmmakers in the business, and though he’ll continue to produce various properties over the next 12 months – including Netflix animated hit Trollhunters – Guillermo del Toro outlined his reasoning behind the one-year hiatus while speaking with Collider. And it turns out Blade II has something to do with his extended break from directing.
Said he:
I felt The Shape of Water needed a good six months of undivided attention, to find an audience and to enjoy it, as a human being that made something I’m proud of and happy with. It’s happened to me, in the past. In 2001, with The Devil’s Backbone, which is my second favorite movie I’ve ever done, I was doing Blade 2. Shape is the first, and then Devil’s, and then Pan’s [Labyrinth]. When Devil’s Backbone was touring, I was busy in post-production on Blade 2, and it shouldn’t happen like that. I was so proud of that movie, and I didn’t enjoy it and I didn’t maximize my time with it. Movies are like children. They grow up and they leave you, and they don’t come back home. They go to university and don’t call. So, I wanted to travel with Shape of Water.
And you can’t fault del Toro’s reasoning. Big studio movies in the vein of Blade IIÂ are often very taxing experiences – particularly for an auteur like him, who’s known for fine-tuning every aspect of his feature films. Besides, as The Shape of Water continues to score rave reviews, the renown Mexican filmmaker has left us with a real cinematic treat to sink our teeth into.
Blade, meanwhile, has been tipped with an appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe multiple times in the past – heck, Jon Watts previously hinted that the famed vampire hunter could cross over into Spider-Man: Homecoming 2. Still no update on that front just yet. In terms of Guillermo del Toro’s year-long break, though, you can drop your own thoughts and comments via the usual place.
