Update: Images from removed at the request of Empire.
It’s been a rough couple of years for Guillermo del Toro. After bailing on “The Hobbit,” which was deadlocked for some time due to MGM’s financial issues, he began work on his long-discussed H.P. Lovecraft dream project “At the Mountains of Madness” that had misfortune of having the plug pulled by a gun-shy Universal, despite Tom Cruise circling the lead. Fortunately, the director had another project, the giant robots vs. giant monsters “Pacific Rim” at the ready with Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. After impressing the geek crowd this summer at Comic-Con with some early footage and a cool poster, things have been quiet, but the latest issue of Empire has some cool-looking production pictures.
Although the photos don’t give a hint of the scale of the world del Toro is building, it definitely shows some of the aesthetic that he is going for, which looks a little like early Ridley Scott with shades of “Alien” in the suits and ship interiors, and “Blade Runner” in the exterior sets.
It’s been four years since del Toro’s last directorial outing, the underrated “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” — which got lost in the summer of “Iron Man” and “The Dark Knight” — and with a large budget behind him, we’re pretty stoked for “Pacific Rim.” There’s no word on when we might get some footage from the film, but we’d bet our money that a trailer will be attached to the “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” this December. Check out the pictures below. [Shock Till You Drop]
