Del Toro has directed a wide variety of films, from comic book adaptations (Blad

e II, Hellboy) to historical fantasy and horror films, two of which are set in S
pain in the context of the Spanish Civil War under the authoritarian rule of Fra
ncisco Franco. These two films, The Devil's Backbone and Pan's Labyrinth, are am
ong his most critically acclaimed works. They share similar settings, protagonis
ts and themes with the 1973 Spanish film The Spirit of the Beehive, widely consi
dered to be the finest Spanish film of the 1970s.[14]
Del Toro views the horror genre as inherently political, explaining, "Much like
fairy tales, there are two facets of horror. One is pro-institution, which is th
e most reprehensible type of fairy tale: Don't wander into the woods, and always
obey your parents. The other type of fairy tale is completely anarchic and anti
establishment."[13]
He is close friends with two other prominent and critically praised Mexican film
makers Alfonso Cuarn and Alejandro Gonzlez Irritu.[15] The three often influence eac
h other's directorial decisions, and have been interviewed together by Charlie R
ose. Cuarn was one of the producers of Pan's Labyrinth, while Irritu assisted in ed
iting the film.
Del Toro has also contributed to the web series Trailers From Hell.[16]
In April 2008, del Toro was hired by Peter Jackson to direct the live-action fil
m adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. On May 30, 2010, del Toro left th
e project due to extend delays brought on by MGM's financial troubles. Although
he did not direct the films, he is credited as co-writer in An Unexpected Journe
y, The Desolation of Smaug and The Battle of the Five Armies.[17]
On June 2, 2009, del Toro's first novel, The Strain, was released. It is the fir
st part of an apocalyptic vampire trilogy co-authored by del Toro and Chuck Hoga
n. The second volume, The Fall, was released on September 21, 2010. The final in
stallment, The Night Eternal, followed in October 2011. Del Toro cites writings
of Antoine Augustin Calmet, Montague Summers and Bernhardt J. Hurwood among his
favourites in the non-literary form about vampires.[18]

Guillermo del Toro

On December 9, 2010, del Toro launched Mirada Studios with his long-time cinemat
ographer Guillermo Navarro, director Mathew Cullen and executive producer Javier
Jimenez. Mirada was formed in Los Angeles, California to be a collaborative spa
ce where they and other filmmakers can work with Mirada's artists to create and
produce projects that span digital production and content for film, television,
advertising, interactive and other media. Mirada launched as a sister company to
production company Motion Theory.[19]
Del Toro directed Pacific Rim, a science fiction film based on a screenplay by d
el Toro and Travis Beacham. In the film, giant monsters rise from the Pacific Oc
ean and attack major cities, leading humans to retaliate with gigantic mecha sui
ts called Jaegers. Del Toro commented, "This is my most un-modest film, this has
everything. The scale is enormous and I'm just a big kid having fun."[20] The f
ilm was released on July 12, 2013 and grossed $411 million at the box office.
Del Toro directed "Night Zero", the pilot episode of The Strain, a vampire horro
r television series based on the novel trilogy of the same name by del Toro and
Chuck Hogan. FX has commissioned the pilot episode, which del Toro scripted with
Hogan and was filmed in Toronto in September 2013.[21][22] FX ordered a thirtee
n-episode first season for the series on November 19, 2013, and series premiered
on July 13, 2014.[23After The Strain's pilot episode, del Toro directed Crimson
Peak, a gothic horror film he co-wrote with Matthew Robbins and Lucinda Cox. De
l Toro has described the film as "a very set-oriented, classical but at the same
 time modern take on the ghost story", citing The Omen, The Exorcist and The Shi
ning as influences. Del Toro also stated, "I think people are getting used to ho
rror subjects done as found footage or B-value budgets. I wanted this to feel li
ke a throwback." Jessica Chastain, Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska, and Charlie H
unnam starred in the film.[24][25] Production began February 2014 in Toronto, wi
th an April 2015 release date initially planned. The studio later pushed the dat
e back to October 2015, to coincide with the Halloween season.[26]
He was selected to be on the jury for the main competition section of the 2015 C
annes Film Festival.[27][28]
Del Toro is currently directing a cold-war drama film The Shape of Water, starri
ng Sally Hawkins, Octavia Spencer, and Michael Shannon.[29] Filming was set to b
egin on August 1, 2016 in Toronto,[30][31] but del Toro confirmed on his persona
l Twitter account that filming would begin on August 15, 2016.[32] Production wa
s officially announced to have begun on that day.[33]
On July 21, 2016, it was reported that Del Toro will retire from producing for p
rojects that he isn't creating or directing himself.[34]
His project Trollhunters was released to great acclaim on Netflix and "is tracki
ng to be its most-watched kids original ever."[35]