Guillermo del Toro’s Next Project is a Stop-Motion Animated Movie for Netflix

Guillermo del Toro is returning to the world of stop-motion animation with an adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s fantasy novel The Buried Giant for Netflix.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, del Toro will direct and produce from a script he is co-writing with Matilda the Musical scribe Dennis Kelly. He is also reteaming with stop-motion animation studio ShadowMachine following the enormous success of 2022’s Pinocchio.

The Buried Giant was published in 2015, ten years after Ishiguro’s last book. The story follows the journey of “an elderly Briton couple, Axl and Beatrice, living in a fictional post-Arthurian England in which no one is able to retain long-term memories.”

Del Toro expressed his pride in getting to adapt this story for the screen, saying, “The Buried Giant continues my animation partnership with Netflix and our pursuit of stop-motion as a medium to tell complex stories and build limitless worlds. It is a great honor and greater responsibility for me to direct this screenplay which Dennis Kelly and I are adapting from Kazuo Ishiguro’s profound and imaginative novel.”

Netflix film boss Scott Stuber added: “Guillermo del Toro is a visionary filmmaker and master of his craft. We couldn’t be more proud of the prestigious recognition for his Pinocchio, and we’re pleased to continue our creative partnership as he develops his next project with Netflix.”

Del Toro’s stop-motion reimagining of Pinocchio was a huge success for Netflix. It was released on the streaming service in December and received widespread critical acclaim as well as several accolades. The film most recently won the BAFTA for Best Animated Film.

IGN’s review of del Toro’s Pinocchio praised the filmmaker for carving out “a phenomenal feat of animated cinema” by bringing “his signature whimsy to a darkly humorous revamp of the classic Italian tale that’s filled with heart, stunning puppetry, and catchy original songs.”

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

Cover image credit: Tibrina Hobson / Contributor via Getty Images.