Fox Searchlight Pictures has announced a release date for The Shape of Water, the latest creature feature from Academy Award-nominated director Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, Crimson Peak). Opening in North American theaters on December 8, 2017, the Shape of Water release date puts it just one week before Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi, though the awards season slot sets it up as a serious Oscar contender.
The film stars Academy Award nominee Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine, Happy-Go-Lucky), Academy Award nominee Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road, 99 Homes), Academy Award nominee Richard Jenkins (The Visitor, Olive Kitteridge), Doug Jones (Crimson Peak, Hellboy), Golden Globe nominee Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man, Steve Jobs), and Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer (The Help, Gifted).
The Shape of Water is an other-worldly fairy tale, set against the backdrop of Cold War era America circa 1963. In the hidden high-security government laboratory where she works, lonely Elisa (Hawkins) is trapped in a life of silence and isolation. Elisa’s life is changed forever when she and co-worker Zelda (Octavia Spencer) discover a secret classified experiment.
Del Toro directs the film and co-wrote it with Vanessa Taylor (Game of Thrones, Divergent). The film is being produced by del Toro and J. Miles Dale (The Vow, Scott Pilgrim vs the World).
