Michael Shannon has been cast in a lead role for Guillermo del Toro’s as-yet-untitled Cold War film project at Fox Searchlight. Shannon joins the previously reported cast, including Sally Hawkins, Octavia Spencer and Michael Stulhbarg.
The movie, which will be written and directed by Del Toro, is “an otherworldly love story”set in 1963 America, according to The Hollywood Reporter . Shannon will reportedly play the villain in the film.
The news follows a rumor from The Tracking Board, which reported that the project may be called The Shape of Water, and has one more supporting actor attached, Richard Jenkins. According to the report, the movie tells the story of a laboratory janitor Elisa (played by Hawkins), who falls in love with a merman being held captive at work.
If all goes according to plan, del Toro plans to start shooting the movie this summer.