Guillermo del Toro has officially started shooting Nightmare Alley. Additionally, the cast has been confirmed and we now have a synopsis. Del Toro's latest project is his first as a director since winning the Best Picture and Best Director Academy Awards for 2017's The Shape of Water. The movie, which del Toro co-wrote with Kim Morgan, is based on the 1946 novel by William Lindsay Gresham. Production started this week in Toronto, Canada.

Nightmare Alley stars Bradley Cooper, who took over for Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette, Willem Dafoe, Richard Jenkins, Ron Perlman, Rooney Mara, and David Strathairn. This is the first time that the cast has been officially confirmed after months of speculation and rumors. You can read the official synopsis for the highly anticipated movie below.

"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."

Guillermo del Toro fans will also be happy to know that many of the director's collaborators from The Shape of Water are back for Nightmare Alley. In addition to actors Ron Perlman and Richard Jenkins, costume designer Luis Sequeira, cinematographer Dan Laustsen, visual effects supervisor Dennis Berardi, and editor Cam McLauchlin are all back working with del Toro on his latest project. This just shows how much the director likes to rely on familiar teams when making his projects. Del Toro had this to say.

"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."

Shape of Water Producer J. Miles Dale is also back for Nightmare Alley. He says, "Given the depth of this incredible cast, I consider it a bucket list privilege to be working alongside them all with the support of our great partners at Searchlight." Dale went to note, "It's going to be a joy to watch these world class actors and Guillermo elevate each other's craft in this new interpretation of Gresham's seminal novel." The movie does not yet have an official release date.

Nightmare Alley was supposed to start production late last year, but was pushed back to now. With that being said, we could see a possible release date for late this year, though early 2021 seems like a safer bet at this point in time. We'll have a better idea once Guillermo del Toro and crew wrap principal photography. Entertainment Weekly was the first to announce the Nightmare Alley news. Except some updates soon, along with some of the first set pictures too.