Guillermo del Toro to shoot Pacific Rim in Toronto

Guillermo del Toro will film his forthcoming monster movie Pacific Rim at Toronto's Pinewood Studios beginning later this year.

The Pan's Labyrinth director plans to use the studio's huge sound stages for a six-month shoot through April 2012, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Filming for the project, under the working title Still Seas, will begin in Toronto on Oct. 31.

Pacific Rim is about a group of humans who use piloted robots to defend earth from an extraterrestrial force. It stars Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba and Charlie Day.

Del Toro has been scouting locations in Toronto and on Saturday appeared at TIFF Bell Lightbox to pay tribute to Federico Fellini. The Mexican filmmaker previously shot 1997's Mimic in the city.

Del Toro moved onto Pacific Rim after his horror project At the Mountains of Madness was delayed.

Pacific Rim is scheduled for release by Warner Bros. on July 21, 2013.