Watch the first trailer for Guillermo del Toro’s dark fairy tale ‘The Shape of Water’

Watch the first trailer for Guillermo del Toro’s dark fairy tale ‘The Shape of Water’
Director Guillermo del Toro (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Director Guillermo del Toro (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Fans of director Guillermo del Toro have learned to expect the unexpected. Over the course of his career, the filmmaker has put his unique stamp on everything from vampires (“Cronos”) to superheroes (“Hellboy”) to giant robots (“Pacific Rim”) to gothic horror (“Crimson Peak”).

The just-released first trailer for del Toro’s latest film, “The Shape of Water,” finds him back in the realm of dark, unsettling fairy tales, a la his 2006 film, “Pan’s Labyrinth” — this time with a suitably twisted romantic spin.

Set against the backdrop of the Cold War, the film centers on a mute janitor (Sally Hawkins) at a top-secret…