Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro is rather beloved among the cinephile community, and as such, there is always immense interest in what projects he has on the horizon. He’s been incredibly forthcoming with his potential slate in the past, but since actually getting a movie to production is a very difficult task, some of those projects have subsequently fallen by the wayside for one reason or another. Lately, del Toro has been a bit more tight-lipped about what he has on the horizon, but as he’s currently in post-production on Crimson Peak, it was just announced that he will be returning to direct Pacific Rim 2 for a 2017 release and he starts designing the Kaiju and Jaegers next month.

However, earlier today Steve spoke with del Toro and the filmmaker revealed to us that Pacific Rim 2 isn’t the only feature film he’s developing. He’s also planning a very small black and white film that he intends to shoot before he dives into the sure-to-be-massive Pacific Rim sequel. More after the jump.

While del Toro is planning on starting pre-production on Pacific Rim 2 next month, he told us that he’s actually scheduled a brief hiatus in which he will shoot a much smaller movie:

“Right away, in February/March I should [start on] another very small movie, black and white, really, really bizarre before starting—we start pre-production on Pacific Rim 2 in August, and then I interrupt it briefly to go into the first of next year to do this strange little movie, and then I restart it and go all the way until we start shooting Pacific Rim 2 at the end of 2015 for release in 2017.”

Del Toro was reluctant to reveal too much about the project, but he did say he already has cast in mind:

“It’s a very small cast. I would love to have John Hurt, and there’s an actress that I have in mind that is not well-known but I’ve seen her in a short film. That’s all she’s really done, one feature and one short, but she has an incredibly interesting taste and I’m gonna try her out for the main role.”

When asked whether or not this new film fits into his previous filmography, he offered this brief, tantalizing tease:

“There’s one great creature in it.”

Del Toro confirmed that the project does have a title, but he’d rather the finished film speak for itself instead of divulging too much beforehand:

“It does [have a title], but I find—I’d rather do the projects and then show them to people than talk about them. I think that it’s going to be a nice thing for people to know which one is it and where it came from when it’s a reality.”

Though del Toro is undoubtedly skilled with larger, colorful films like Pacific Rim and Hellboy, I’m enthused to hear that he’s planning a return to the small-scale pics akin to those from his early career before diving back into the world of Pacific Rim. Though I’m obviously intrigued to learn more about the project, I think it’s kind of swell that del Toro is keeping this one a bit more mysterious. Look for more from Steve’s interview with del Toro very soon.