Skip to main content

Guillermo del Toro’s ‘The Shape of Water’ gets a creepy new trailer

It’s been a few years since director Guillermo del Toro’s last feature project, but his new film The Shape of Water hits theaters in December and — like so many of the Academy Award nominee’s other films — looks to be as creepy as it is beautiful.

Fox Searchlight Pictures released a new trailer for The Shape of Water this week, offering another preview of what’s been keeping del Toro busy in the time since the release of 2015’s Crimson Peak. The latest trailer (see above) offers quite a bit of fresh footage from the dark fantasy set in Cold War era America during the 1960s.

Recommended Videos

The Shape of Water follows a lonely woman whose life is forever changed when she encounters a mysterious creature at the secret government facility where she works. Academy Award nominee Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine, Happy-Go-Lucky) stars in the film as Elisa, a mute woman who lives an isolated, silent life before meeting the merman-like subject of the laboratory’s experiments.

A poster image created by artist James Jean was released along with the film’s first trailer in July 2017, and it only adds to the film’s bizarre beauty.

✨🌊✨Artwork for The Shape of Water @realgdt @foxsearchlight pic.twitter.com/FQ1lMab3bs

— James Jean (@JamesJeanArt) July 19, 2017

At this point, it doesn’t come as much of a surprise that the aquatic creature is played by Doug Jones, a veteran of del Toro’s films and television projects with creature roles in Crimson Peak, Pan’s Labyrinth, and The Strain, among other projects. Jones might be best known for playing Abe Sapien, a similarly aquatic character appearing in the two Hellboy films del Toro directed.

Along with directing The Shape of Water, del Toro also co-wrote the film with Vanessa Taylor (Game of Thrones, Divergent) and serves as a co-producer on it. Beyond Hawkins and Jones, the film’s cast includes Academy Award nominee Michael Shannon (Man of Steel, Midnight Special), Academy Award nominee Richard Jenkins (The Visitor, The Cabin in the Woods), Golden Globe nominee Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man, Steve Jobs), and Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer (The Help).

The first trailer for the film (see below) came as a bit of a surprise to many fans of Del Toro’s work, as the filmmaker’s next project had been shrouded in mystery for quite a while.

The Shape of Water - Official Trailer

Del Toro reportedly had The Shape of Water planned for several years, and chose to direct this film instead of the Pacific Rim sequel, next year’s Pacific Rim: Uprising.

The Shape of Water is scheduled to hit theaters December 8.

Update: We added a new trailer for the film.

Rick Marshall
Former Contributing Editor, Entertainment
A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…
Death Valley is one of 3 great Britbox shows you should watch in July 2025
An old man and a young woman look at photos in Death Valley.

If you're tired of American television and the lack of sophistication that stems from many U.S. shows, BritBox might be the answer to your prayers. While it's true that Brits are inherently more sophisticated than their American counterparts, their TV tends to be a bit more refined.

If you have a BritBox subscription but aren't sure exactly what to do with it, we've got you covered. We've pulled together a list of three great shows that are the perfect entry point if you're looking for something great on BritBox:

Read more
Admit it — You still love Stranger Things, and the season 5 teaser trailer is awesome
A group of teens look down as one holds a chainsaw.

It's easy to poke fun at Stranger Things because of how long it's taken to reach the end. When season 5 concludes later this year, the Netflix series will have produced 42 episodes of television in just under 10 years. For comparison, The X-Files released roughly 200 episodes in under nine years. The pandemic and strikes are legitimate reasons for the delays, but the long hiatuses for Stranger Things have been frustrating for fans, to the point where some are questioning if they'll even care about the final season.

After watching the season 5 teaser trailer, all the feelings of resentment have been replaced with excitement. The teaser looks awesome, and I can't wait for the show's final run this fall.

Read more
Inception at 15 — Why the sci-fi thriller is Christopher Nolan’s best film
Bending buildings and the team from Christopher Nolan's film, Inception, in a promotional poster.

On July 16, 2010, writer-director Christopher Nolan released his groundbreaking sci-fi action film, Inception, to theaters around the world. Fresh off the blockbuster success of The Dark Knight, Nolan unleashed the unique story of Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) as he and his team of "extractors" are hired to enter a business heir's (Cillian Murphy) dreams and implant an idea into his subconscious, setting off a high-stakes journey through the dream world.

Inception continues to be one of Nolan's most popular and beloved motion pictures to date. Winning four Academy Awards and receiving nominations for four other Oscars, including the award for Best Picture, this action-packed, mind-bending heist film presented one of the most inventive blockbusters of the 21st century. While Nolan made many other incredible movies throughout his career, specifically Memento, The Dark Knight, Interstellar, Dunkirk, and Oppenheimer, there are many reasons why Inception surpasses them all 15 years after its premiere.

Read more