10 Current Directors Who Just Can't Seem To Miss
8. Guillermo Del Toro
Filmography: Pacific Rim, Crimson Peak, The Shape of Water
A Mexican auteur with a magical eye for brilliance, Guillermo Del Toro hasn't put a foot wrong since he burst onto the world scene with the glorious fantasia of Pan's Labyrinth and his adaptations of the Hellboy comic-books for the big screen.
But his work over the past decade has proved him a master of multiple genres, juggling giant mecha anime homage with Pacific Rim and following it up with the gothic horror palate of Crimson Peak. The nearest he's come to a misfire is the controversial adaptation of The Hobbit trilogy, which he retained a writing credit for after being initially attached as director.
His high-water mark has surely got to be his Oscar-sweeping, old-fashioned love story between a deaf woman and a fish monster, The Shape of Water. It's to the testament of Del Toro and his vision that the film never feels anything less than genuinely affecting - and with a stop-motion retelling of Pinocchio next in his sights, poised to land next year, it will be a thrilling wait to see what quintessential wonder he bring to it.