Confirmed: Guillermo Del Toro to direct Pacific Rim

Guillermo Del Toro appears to be ready to move on past the events of the last few days, but not without taking what I think is a slight jab at Universal Pictures first. Legendary Pictures has confirmed that the director's next big project will be the monster mash up, Pacific Rim.  Shooting is set to begin in September with a planned release of summer 2013.  Del Toro had been rumored to be taking on this film once it became clear his At the Mountains of Madness wasn't going to happen.  Deadline has Del Toro's statement about today's announcement...

Del Toro: "We started developing PAC RIM a while ago with the mad passion and enthusiasm of a project unwatched and unchecked by politics or comparisons. We designed and shepherded the movie we want to make. We start shooting in September and we hit the ground running because we are so in sync. My partnership with Legendary represents, both in scale and creative demands, a huge step forward for me."

That last bit about "scale and demands" sounds like a finger poke to Universal's chest since "scale and demands" is exactly what sunk 'Madness' in the end.

Legendary Pictures spent a hefty $1M on Travis Beacham's Pacific Rim pitch, which fantasizes a future Earth where the world must come together and use technologically advanced weaponry to defeat an invading monster force. At one time the story was thought to be the basis for the upcoming Godzilla relaunch, but that turned out not to be true. Beacham's biggest claim to fame up to this point has been some scriptwork on last year's Clash of the Titans.

Big monsters, big weapons, huge world to create. Sounds like Del Toro's cup of tea, and based on his above statements he seems pretty excited over it.  Can't wait!