Guillermo del Torohas been laying low since winning two Oscars forThe Shape of Waterbut he continues to develop projects for the big screen while he prepsPinocchiofor Netflix. To that end, he has signed on to write and directZanbatofor Paramount andJ.J. Abrams' Bad Robot, Collider has exclusively learned.
Plot details remain under wraps, but sources say thatZanbatocenters around a young girl (between 10-15) with lethal fighting skills – think Hit-Girl inKick-Assor the title character inAlita: Battle Angel. Our sources initially described the character as a “ninja,” but del Toro himselftook to Twitterto clarify that the protagonist isnota ninja. It’s an idea he’s been working on for years though it has never come to light until now.
Zanbatois one of many projects del Toro is developing, but regardless of when it goes before cameras, the idea of two industry titans like del Toro and Abrams teaming up on a fun genre movie has to be exciting to film fans of all stripes.
Del Toro won Best Director forThe Shape of Water, which also won Best Picture and brought him a third nomination for co-writing the original screenplay withVanessa Taylor. The film, which starredSally Hawkins,Michael Shannon,Richard Jenkins,Octavia SpencerandDoug Jones, grossed nearly $200 million worldwide. Del Toro was previously nominated for writingPan’s Labyrinth.
Up next for del Toro are two projects that he produced –Scott Cooper’sAntlersat Fox Searchlight, andScary Stories to Tell in the Darkat CBS Films. He also serves as an executive producer on Amazon’s upcoming seriesCarnival RowstarringOrlando BloomandCara Delevigne.
Abrams is in post-production onStar Wars: Episode IX, which will hit theaters in December and presumably unveil its official title before then. He’s also an executive producer on HBO’s upcoming seriesLovecraft Country, which countsJordan Peeleas one of its co-creators.
Del Toro is represented by WME and Exile Entertainment, while Abrams is repped by CAA.
