Guillermo del Toro is attached to write and direct the action movie “Zanbato” for Paramount and J.J. Abrams‘ Bad Robot.
The logline is under wraps. “Zanbato” centers on a young girl with lethal fighting skills. Del Toro posted Friday on his Twitter account that the project has been in development for the past six years without leaking, adding, “We are still developing steadily.”
Del Toro also said Friday that he’s in pre-production on “Pinocchio” for Netflix, on which he will make his animated feature film directing debut in a stop-motion musical version of the classic children’s tale about a puppet who wants to be a real live boy. Netflix and del Toro announced in October that he would write and produce the film, set in Italy during the 1930s, when fascism was on the rise.
Del Toro is also producing Scott Cooper‘s “Antlers” at Fox Searchlight, and “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” at CBS Films. He won Academy Awards last year for producing and directing “The Shape of Water.”
Abrams was a producer on “Mission: Impossible — Fallout” and is in post-production on “Star Wars: Episode IX,” which will open on Dec. 20.
Del Toro is represented by WME and Exile Entertainment. Abrams is repped by CAA. The news about “Zanbato” was first reported by Collider.