Some of the most acclaimed directors of our time are turning to animation. Wes Anderson, Tim Burton, and David Lynch have all dabbled in the art form. Next up: Guillermo del Toro. The Shape of Water director has a surprising, deep love for CGI animation. He has worked on films like Kung Fu Panda 2 and The Book of Life and is currently directing the ongoing Netflix animation series Trollhunters. Today, he’s taken his love to an even higher level by forging a multi-year deal with DreamWorks Animation. del Toro will be setting up office at the studio’s Glendale, California office and begin work on multiple CGI films, which has even lead some fans to believe that del Toro could direct the fifth installment of Shrek.
“[Animation] is an art form that has influenced my work greatly since childhood,” del Toro said in a statement. “To me, it’s the perfect medium to bring to life any and all ideas, no matter how outlandish or wild.”
Studios like DreamWorks and Pixar are increasingly placing an emphasis on creating authentically diverse films. The success of POC-centric films like The Book of Life, Coco, Moana, and the Rihanna-starring Home has proven brown and black protagonists resonate with white audiences too. it will be interesting to see if the Mexican director focuses on crafting films that highlight the Latinx experience. And perhaps the Oscar fave will make history by creating the first animation to win an Oscar for Best Picture— if del Toro can turn a romance between a merman and a mute woman into a modern-day Romeo and Juliet, he can do anything. We’ll probably have to wait around four years to see del Toro’s feature-length animation debut (CGI is a labor of love!), but it’ll surely be worth the wait.