Guillermo del Toro

The first time Andres Muschietti directed a film called “Mama,” it was roughly three minutes in length. The 2008 short that spawned the new horror feature opening in theaters Friday is a quick slip of a thing — a creepy mood piece that sees two little girls running from a ghastly apparition in the middle of the night. “The short film was a vision that happened one morning when I was lying in bed at that time of the morning when brain waves are sort of low,” Muschietti said. “It came up with no context, no back story. It was not a rational construction, but it seemed like a very interesting thing. I didn’t bother looking for an explanation, it seemed creepy enough without it.” Creepy is the watchword for Muschietti’s new feature, his first full-length film as a director. […]

Another day, another mystery about a director possibly signing on to be a part of the “Star Wars” universe. New York Magazine’s Vulture blog first reported that Zack Snyder had plans to make a “Seven Samurai”-inspired story set in a galaxy far, far away, but hours later, Snyder’s rep contradicted the story in The Hollywood Reporter, saying that the “Man of Steel” filmmaker had no such plans to develop a stand-alone Jedi epic for Lucasfilm loosely inspired by Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 classic. “While he is super-flattered because he is a huge fan, Zack is not involved in any way with the new ‘Star Wars,’” his rep told The Hollywood Reporter. “He is currently in post on his two films, ‘Man of Steel’ and ‘300: Battle of Artemisia.’” Vulture, however, has posted an update to its original story, stating that despite […]

With “The Avengers,” “The Dark Knight Rises,” “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” and more sci-fi and fantasy films, 2012 was a landmark, record-breaking year for spectacle entertainment. But 2013 looks just as promising with a host of big, anticipated sequels — including “Iron Man 3″ and “Star Trek Into Darkness” — and such smart new offerings as “Pacific Rim” and “Elysium” on the calendar. With that in mind, here’s a look at Hero Complex’s 13 must-see movies in 2013. “Oz: The Great and Powerful” (March 8) Sam Raimi’s upcoming “Oz: The Great and Powerful” promises viewers a journey down the yellow brick road that will include a breathtaking array of dazzling visual effects. The Disney film stars James Franco as the man who will become the Wizard of Oz, and takes place well before Dorothy arrives in the faraway fantasy […]

“The Dark Knight Rises” might have been the most watched movie trailer on YouTube this year, but with 2013 just around the corner, we here at Hero Complex thought it would be fun to collect the trailers for some of next year’s big releases — many of which debuted in what seemed like an onslaught of promotion in the last few weeks. “Star Trek Into Darkness” J.J. Abrams’ much anticipated follow-up to his 2009 reboot of the landmark television series beams into theaters May 17, and fans got a taste of what to expect with the nine minutes of the movie that played before Imax screenings of “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.” But the question remains, who is the villain that Benedict Cumberbatch is playing? Some fans seem convinced that Cumberbatch would appear as Khan Noonien Singh, the character made […]

Guillermo del Toro hasn’t directed a film since 2008′s “Hellboy II: The Golden Army,” but he’s set to return next year in a very big way with “Pacific Rim.” The first trailer for the robots-versus-kaiju film arrived today, and it promises near non-stop spectacle, or, as Del Toro said in an interview last week, “the biggest wrestling matches on Earth.” Set in the near future, the film posits that a race of kaiju has entered our world, rising up out of the ocean, and humans, struggling to survive the onslaught, have invented 25-story tall robots called Jaegers to fight them off. Charlie Hunnam stars as the troubled Raleigh Becket, who along with Rinko Kikuchi’s Mako Mori, pilots Gipsy Danger, pictured above; the film’s cast also includes Idris Elba, Charlie Day and Del Toro regular Ron Perlman as the fabulously named, […]

The new trailer for Guillermo del Toro’s upcoming take on the kaiju genre “Pacific Rim” is set to premiere in just a couple of hours, but for those who can’t wait to see images from the film, we offer you this exclusive shot of Gipsy Danger, the imposing 25-story tall Jaeger that goes head to head against an array of alien creatures in next summer’s sci-fi tentpole. Set in the near future, the film posits that a race of kaiju have entered our world, rising up out of the ocean, and humans, struggling to survive the onslaught, have invented a battalion of Jaegers to fight them off. Charlie Hunnam stars as troubled Jaeger pilot Raleigh Becket; the film’s cast also includes Idris Elba, Charlie Day, Rinko Kikuchi and Del Toro regular Ron Perlman as the fabulously named, nattily attired black […]

Guillermo Del Toro’s “Pacific Rim” promises plenty of sci-fi spectacle pitting robots against monsters, but the visceral “Pan’s Labyrinth” director, an expert when it comes to creating alternative worlds, understands that every nuance of a new universe can’t be detailed on screen in a couple of hours. With that in mind, the filmmaker will release a graphic novel written by the movie’s screenwriter Travis Beacham that will serve as a prequel of sorts to “Pacific Rim” and will be available from Legendary Comics prior to the film’s July 12 release. Hero Complex contributor Jevon Phillips caught up with Del Toro to talk about the new venture, which was announced at New York Comic Con on Thursday, and whether it has the potential to spawn an ongoing series. HC: Many movies now put out comic-book adaptations of their stories … GDT: […]

Director Guillermo del Toro deliberately avoided watching classic Japanese monster films when he was making “Pacific Rim,” his upcoming robots-versus-kaiju film. Slated for a July 12, 2013, release, the film chronicles an epic battle between alien kaiju and giant robots piloted by humans. “I felt there was a chance to do something fresh, something new that at the same time was conscious of the heritage, but not a pastiche or an homage or a greatest hits of everything,” Del Toro said. “One of the first things I did is make it a point to not check any old movies or any other references. Like start from scratch.” Del Toro is the guest on the latest episode of “Hero Complex: The Show,” which you can find above or over at the Nerdist Channel on YouTube. This interview was conducted by Hero […]

BATFILMS OF THE FUTURE? The end is near — when the credits roll on “The Dark Knight Rises” this July, it will mark the close of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy and the final adventure for Christian Bale as the caped crusader of Gotham City. Warner Bros. executives have made it clear they won’t leave the iconic property sitting on a shelf, however, and a new director and star tandem could be inhabiting Wayne Manor by 2014. But how on earth will any filmmaker follow the work of Nolan and company? Working together, Hero Complex lead writer Geoff Boucher and graphic artist Sean Hartter came up with 15  imaginary Batman reboots — and, yes, they did it with tongue in cheek. Rob Marshall’s “Gotham!”: Oscar-nominated “Chicago” director Rob Marshall  takes the caped crusader into truly new territory: a musical. Yes, that’s right, after Spider-Man’s […]

When nominations were announced this week for the 84th Academy Awards, the most fascinating — and startling — category was animated feature film. “The Adventures of Tintin” – which won the Golden Globe in that category – wasn’t nominated at all. Instead, Gore Verbinski’s old West adventure “Rango” made the list, as did two international entries — “Chico & Rita” and “A Cat in Paris” – that present vibrant adventures with a classic hand-drawn approach. Rounding out the category were two DreamWorks Animation releases, “Puss in Boots” and “Kung Fu Panda 2,” and don’t think for a minute that went over well at the Emeryville headquarters of Pixar. “Cars 2″ didn’t win over critics but there was still hope that it would bring home the automatic Oscar nomination that has become a Pixar tradition. No one was happier about the nominations than Guillermo del Toro, who is […]