Another trailer for Guillermo Del Toro‘s Pacific Rim has been released, just in case you’re not already on board. The thing is, there’s not a whole lot that’s different about this new spot and the WonderConone we saw at the end of last month. You’ve got giant monsters battling giant robots in the sea and on land. You’ve got Idris Elba doing his best audition for the next rousing speeches supercut. You’ve got the tagline telling us to “Go Big or Go Extinct.” And you’ve got little bits (littler this time) of the likely comic relief characters played by Charlie Day and Ron Perlman. Honestly, I’d like to see more of the character stuff. Or something else besides big creatures and the kind of action that could just as easily sell a Michael Bay movie. At least the previous trailer hinted at some themes involving the humanity inside the robots. That which make them different from the monsters in spite of them initially being noted for their equal measure — big bad weapons of defense to go up against big bad weapons of offense. Knowing Del Toro, the big ideas are probably there, but of course that stuff doesn’t sell a movie to most people the way explosions and fighting behemoths do.

You probably don’t need to watch the newly released Pacific Rim trailer below because by this point you already know if you want to see it or not. It’s a Guillermo del Toro movie about giant monsters fighting giant robots! But if for some reason you’re not yet convinced that this is going to be all kinds of over the top explodey goodness go ahead and take 2:38 to watch the new trailer below. It originally premiered at WonderCon where it was meant to be an exclusive, but del Toro and friends have decided to share it with the online world anyway. Check out the much loved Pacific Rim trailer from WonderCon below.

As someone whose only experience with legitimate high culture is seeing a bunch of bizarre black and white photography in a pitch black room aided only by a small flashlight (thanks, France!) these new pieces of concept art from Pacific Rim strike me as exactly the kind of thing that an enterprising museum of fine art would do well to acquire. Sure, Banksy will probably just paint over them with a clever message of social relevance, but the time it would spend unmolested would be worth their while. Head over to Total Film for the hi-res versions of the concept art for Guillermo del Toro‘s new movie, and be sure to check out our talk with Charlie Day about playing a scientist for the production. And seriously, who wouldn’t want these pieces framed and hanging on their wall?

There was a moment of concern when one of the writers behind Guillermo del Toro‘s stop-motion Pinocchio said that the project wasn’t moving forward, but now Gris Grimly has updated Bleeding Cool on the situation, and things don’t seem near as dire anymore. “I’m writing to clear up the rumor that has gotten started,” said Grimly. “It all started with misconstrued information that I passed along through my networks. But it has come to my knowledge that Pinocchio is indeed still kicking with interest from the studios. Although I thought it was going to lay quiet for a little while, I never thought it would be canceled. It’s too good.” The animated project is still in pre-production through The Jim Henson Company. For now. Del Toro always has a lot on his plate, so even as this particular fantasy becomes a reality, it might be a while. They still need a distributor to ensure success, and that might be tricky. Of course, Disney has the honor of owning the most popular telling of the story (complete with a singing cricket with a bold sense of ethics), and while children born in 2010 will always see Disney as “the company that makes Star Wars,” their classic properties still command massive respect. And since one of those icons is getting the Blu-ray treatment, they’ve released a new trailer for it. See if it can convince you to fall in love with The Little Mermaid all over again:

What is Casting Couch? It’s having trouble finding casting news in a week where the entire film industry’s eyes are turned to Sundance, but it was able to dig up a couple nuggets anyway. Not a lot is known about Guillermo del Toro’s upcoming project, Crimson Peak, but what we do know is that it’s supposed to be some kind of ghost story, and del Toro is in the final stages of securing Emma Stone to star in it. And now there’s some new news about who the male lead is going to be. Variety is reporting that Charlie Hunnam, the Sons of Anarchy star who del Toro recently worked with on Pacific Rim, is now on board the movie as well. Seeing as details regarding the plot are being kept under wraps, there’s no way of really knowing what role Hunnam is going to play, but probably that doesn’t matter. Honestly, this one had everybody at Emma Stone.

Once upon a time… horror films knew how to consistently land their third act. The original Black Christmas, The Exorcist and John Carpenter’s The Thing build tension and escalate the scares without falling apart by the end, but you don’t even need to go back that far to find ones that get it right thanks to (relatively) recent movies like [REC], The Mist and The Innkeepers. But more than any other genre a lot of horror films from the last few years simply drop the ball before the credits roll. Andrés Muschietti‘s Mama continues that trend unfortunately, but truth be told its grip is pretty damn tenuous from the beginning. After Victoria and Lily’s father kills their mother and some co-workers he takes the girls on a drive that ends with a crash in the woods. The trio wander the cold, desolate forest before finding an old, seemingly deserted cabin and settling in for the night. Father of the year doesn’t make it to morning. Five years later the now feral girls are found and returned to their uncle Lucas (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and his girlfriend Annabelle (Jessica Chastain), but something else has come home with them and it’s not too keen on sharing custody.

Guilleremo del Toro just needs to keep making movies forever. At least one a year. Maybe every two years for a particularly big project. Let’s hope that Pacific Rim reminds everyone with checks to write why this guy is so loved and that he can keep busy with all the projects he’s attached to — including the ghost story Crimson Peak. According to Variety, the movie is close to securing Emma Stone to star. Although almost nothing is known of the script’s plot, hauntings are pretty popular right now even as Paranormal Activity‘s spectre still moans limply in theaters, and Stone is in high demand so the combination here makes sense.  She’s a talented actor, but it’s her popularity in particular that matters here. If she’s the puzzle piece that gets a del Toro ghost story greenlit, then let’s she’s as close to signing as Variety reports. At any rate, the Stone/del Toro combination is something of a geek dream. Who wants to bet Doug Jones will be on board soon?

Why Watch? This January, we’ll be able to see Andres Muschietti‘s Mama, which finds Nicolaj Coster-Waldau and a goth Jessica Chastain adopting two feral girls (trailer here). The feature makes this short film a prologue to a much larger story, but it’s not hard to imagine what scared producer Guillermo del Toro when he first laid eyes on this gripping three minutes. Simplicity itself, the script for MAMA was probably less than a page, but the combination of screaming children, little feet running away in terror, groaning string music, camera work that seems to contort the space its in, and a jerking murder of humanity is more than enough to fray nerves. The 2008 short gets an improved presentation here, complete with an introduction from del Toro. [Aint it Cool] What will it cost you? Only 3 minutes. Skip work. Watch more short films.

While we’d be willing to hazard a guess that the only thing you really need to know about Guillermo del Toro‘s Pacific Rimis that it involves giant, human-controlled robots battling sea monsters, apparently that’s not quite enough to sell this thing, because now we need to look at pictures of humans standing around looking mad. Where the hell are the robots? Bring out the sea monsters! At least hit us with some Charlie Day. The Lebanese Movie Guide (because of course?) has just debuted a new still from the film (via ComingSoon) which basically reveals nothing beyond the fact that stars Idris Elba and Rinko Kikuchi will stand together at some point, looking at each other in a vaguely combative way, while some diligent workers toil behind them (is that guy playing Galaga?). If this means that we might get a similarly-tense robot-staring-down-a-sea-monster still in the near future, that’s a-okay. Pacific Rim opens on July 12th.

The trailer for Pacific Rim crashed through a few bridges and buildings, but it’s here now for our viewing pleasure. With all the extra-dimensional monsters and giant robots clashing, is there any doubt it’s the holiday season? Add an oven-full of grandma’s cookies, and you’ve got a true winter celebration. And now the team over at Aint It Cool has delivered the Q and A equivalent of grandma’s cookies: Guillermo del Toro addressing the Butt-Numb-a-Thon audience about his mech suit movie. The geek level here is high, so if your eyes grow wide, it’s normal. Check out the video Q and A for yourself:

At last weekend’s Ain’t It Cool News Butt-numb-athon, Guillermo del Toro called Pacific Rim a “film made by fans, but not a fan film,” and it’s easy to see what he’s talking about in this first full-length trailer for the film. He isn’t making Hellboy this time around, but a big, accessible summer blockbuster for everyone. Considering all the massive action on display here, this could be what makes del Toro an actual household name. Who can’t get behind human-controlled gigantic robots defending Earth from monstrous aliens? We may have said the same thing about Cowboys & Aliens all those many naive years ago, but del Toro is a filmmaker we can trust with a high-concept as good as this. Check out the first trailer for Pacific Rim after the break!

Showing a large amount of faith in Guillermo del Toro‘s Pacific Rim, Legendary Pictures has hired the screenwriter who crafted the initial treatment, Travis Beacham, to get crackin’ on a second installment. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the production company is happy enough with early buzz to take the first steps toward developing a franchise. Of course, scripts are cheap relative to the finished product, so there’s always the chance that they could pull back on the reins if the film doesn’t meet their financial expectations. But if they’re happy…it means more monsters fighting robots in tropical locales. My personal fantasy is that if it hits big, it’ll ensure Beacham’s Killing on Carnival Row gets a greenlight and larger studio interest. That project — the future-set story of a detective hunting a serial killer who’s targeting mythical creatures —  got Tarsem Singh signed on a year ago but hasn’t yet been put into pre-production. Maybe a massively successful hit will be the catalyst it needs. Check out everything we’ve got on Pacific Rim

Guillermo Del Toro has added so many projects to his wish list of cool things that he’d like to make that keeping up with every movie he’s attached to make and what order he’s supposed to make them in could be a full time job. But, despite the fact that this list is ever-expanding and ever-changing, it is sometimes possible to know for sure what movie he’s going to be doing next, and Deadline has a report that seems to solidify the fact that the next project he actually sits down and completes is going to be a ghost story called Crimson Peak. Backed by Legendary Pictures, Crimson Peak comes from a script that Del Toro wrote with his frequent collaborator Matthew Robbins. The current plan is for the director to work through another rewrite alongside Lucinda Coxon, and then start production on the film sometime in early 2014. This gives him plenty of time to wrap up his publicity work for Pacific Rim and also film a pilot for an FX show called The Strain, to which he is already committed. What do we know about Crimson Peak so far? We know that it’s a story Del Toro has described as being very set-oriented, and one that is supposed to work in the conventions of the ghost story genre, but give them a modern twist. The director says that he’s using this project as an opportunity to honor some of his favorite horror movies of the past, including “Robert

UPDATED! With one more! There is something to be said for swiftly-unraveling movie virals that roll out with speed and punch – mainly, that they are the precise type of virals that other, similar campaigns should aspire to be. Just yesterday, the first few bits of marketing mayhem from Guillermo del Toro‘s Pacific Rim began rolling out, and they now show no sign of abating. While we met just one of the massive, fighting robots yesterday via blueprint – “Gipsy Danger” is her (?) name – today we get no less than three more giant blueprints for new Jaegers. Today we get to meet “Striker Eureka,” “Coyote Tango,” “Crimson Typhoon,” and an apparently unnamed Jaeger. And, yes, they all look amazing. Check out Coyote, Crimson, and, uhm, the other one after the break. And, please, don’t try to make these at home. Also, can someone get to work on a Jaeger Name Generator? Until then, just call me “Giraffe Havoc.”

Earlier this morning, our own Cole Abaius alerted us to the just-launching viral campaign for Guillermo del Toro‘s Pacific Rim, and while the creative marketing looked to be getting us pumped for something happening in just under two weeks, we haven’t had to wait that long to see a whole new piece of mech from the film. Up top is our first detailed look at one of the fighting robots – “a Jaeger” – from the upcoming film. Not impressed? Perhaps you should look down to the tiny little man standing at this Jaeger’s feet. Yup, that’s your size comparison. Giant, fighting robots that battle aliens and link up via neural bridge with unexpected hero fighter pilots. I’m sorry, what other movie were you looking forward to next summer? Pacific Rim opens on July 12, 2013. [Wired, via ComingSoon]

According to this video, we’re still safe, but it doesn’t seem like it will be that way for long. Guillermo del Toro‘s Pacific Rim has launched its first viral attack, and its official website is counting down to something that will happen in (as of this writing) about  2 weeks. Either a teaser trailer is going to launch, or a giant monster is going to take out San Francisco. I guess we’ll have to wait and see. It could be both. Or they might simply be testing the Kaiju Alert System. We all know how rusty that thing is, so it could all be routine. On the other hand, Total Film snagged this leaked memo where Great Britain Air Command has called down some serious mechanical back-up to aid the Pan Pacific Defense:

Rise of The Guardians is a step forward for Dreamworks Animation in the way How to Train Your Dragon was. Both films tossed away the company’s signature pop culture references, gag-driven narratives, and all their other much-criticized characteristics. Guardians and Dragon have both created their own universes, and in an unexpected way. Rise of the Guardians director Peter Ramsey - who did storyboards for a few of our favorite movies – takes the world, the stakes, and all the famed holiday characters seriously. There is no place for self-referential jokes in this universe, which is what surprised Ramsey the most. We spoke to the director himself a few weeks ago, who discussed how story boarding is the best film school around, how he took a live-action approach to the film, and the joy world-building:

Last weekend seems like such a long time ago. It seems like it was in another galaxy far, far away, in fact. We now live in this strange new world in which Disney not only owns Lucasfilm but is also putting out a new live-action Star Wars movie in two and a half years. And yet, that’s still not the biggest thing to happen in the last seven days. This is, of course, the destruction of Hurricane Sandy, which has affected the film industry to a degree. For one thing, as we reported, it destroyed a major piece of movie memorabilia — the HMS Bounty replica used in Mutiny on the Bounty and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest — and two human lives with it. Also, a number of films that opened or were supposed to open in limited release in New York City this weekend have been delayed until power is restored to the venues hosting them. Meanwhile, individuals without electricity in the wake of the storm have been unable to read FSR all week. The least of their problems, obviously, and I’m not saying it’s any priority of theirs to catch up with our content, but if they are looking to do so once they can, the recap is here. Seriously, though, join us in helping the people in need post-Sandy by maybe skipping just one movie and donating the ticket money instead. If you are catching up or looking for highlights, let us first remind you of our

Latino Review has been a pretty reliable source of breaking comic book movie news in the past, so when one of their tried and true informants reports something with a scoop, it shouldn’t be scoffed at as impossible hearsay. But, on the other hand, Guillermo Del Toro is a director who’s built up a pretty strong reputation for becoming interested in and attaching himself to tons of projects that never come to fruition – so this story should probably be taken with a grain of salt. Now, with disclaimers out of the way, here’s a big story that would be completely awesome if it ever turns into a completed film. LR’s shadowy sources are reporting that Warner Bros. is so pleased with the work that Del Toro has done on his monster movie epic, Pacific Rim, that they’ve basically given him carte blanche to choose whatever he wants to do for his next project, and what he’s chosen is a massive team up of all of DC Comics’ mystical characters in a movie that would be called Heaven Sent.

According to Emma Watson, speaking to MTV, she’ll be shooting Beauty and the Beast next summer. The actress – who is appearing in The Perks of Being a Wallflower and The Bling Ring next – said she’s met with director Guillermo del Toro and seen his conceptual look book for the project. “We met a week or two ago, and we started working on the script, and it’s going to go next summer. It’s so funny; obviously I’ve been doing a lot of other work, and I was nervous. I was like, ‘Is this going to go away?’ And Guillermo is so psyched about it, and he’s, like, been thinking about it so much. “He brought the book. I was like, ‘Ah, this is killing me.’ I’m very excited.” As she should be. As we all should be. Hopefully everything comes together to make this schedule a reality. However, it would mean the proposed summer 2013 start date for del Toro’s take on Pinocchio (which, oddly enough, stars Watson’s Harry Potter co-star Daniel Radcliffe) would be pushed. Or maybe del Toro will attempt to take on a live-action and an animated project at the same time. All of this will shake out, but the core point here is that del Toro is steadily, actively getting the stuff on his plate made, and that’s a glorious thing. I can think of few things better than seeing Pacific Rim in July and seeing del Toro start production on something new a week