Returning to the director's chair for the first time since 2017's Oscar-winning The Shape of Water, Guillermo del Toro will helm a new adaptation of William Lindsay Gresham's 1946 novel Nightmare Alley, and Searchlight Pictures lets us know that principal photography began this week on location in Toronto, Canada.
In Nightmare Alley, an ambitious young carny (Bradley Cooper) with a talent for manipulating people with a few well-chosen words hooks up with a female psychiatrist (Cate Blanchett) who is even more dangerous than he is.
The carnival cast includes carnival worker Molly (Rooney Mara), head barker Clem (Willem Dafoe), and Ron Perlman as Bruno the Strongman. Richard Jenkins is part of the high society crowd as wealthy industrialist Ezra Grindle.
Toni Collette (Knives Out, Hereditary) and David Strathairn (Lincoln, Good Night and Good Luck) round out the cast.
Del Toro directs and co-writes with Kim Morgan (The Forbidden Room). The film is being produced by del Toro and J. Miles Dale (Antlers, The Shape of Water).
"I’m inspired and elated to be joined by this brilliant cast. Kim Morgan and I have worked with great passion to bring the dark, raw world and language of William Gresham to the screen and now we are joined by a superb group of artists and technicians to bring it to life," said del Toro.
Joining del Toro on the film are long time collaborators costume designer Luis Sequeira (The Shape of Water, Mama), director of photography Dan Laustsen (The Shape of Water, John Wick: Chapter 3), visual effects supervisor Dennis Berardi (The Shape of Water, Crimson Peak), production designer Tamara Deverell ("Star Trek: Discovery", "The Strain") and editor Cam McLauchlin (The Shape of Water, "The Strain").
Wow. One more time. The Shape of Water.
Searchlight shall distribute the picture worldwide.