Guillermo del Toro directing The Buried Giant for Netflix

Guillermo del Toro is to direct 'The Buried Giant'.

The Oscar-winning filmmaker is to helm and produce the animated movie for Netflix, with the project coming hot on the heels of his stop-motion take on 'Pinocchio'.

Del Toro has co-written the script for the project with 'Matilda the Musical' writer Dennis Kelly.

'The Buried Giant' is based on the fantasy novel by Kazuo Ishiguro and follows an elderly British couple, Axl and Beatrice, living in a fictional England where nobody can retain long-term memories.

Del Toro said in a statement: "'The Buried Giant' continues my animation partnership with Netflix and our pursuit of stop-motion as a medium to tell complex stories and build limitless worlds.

"It is a great honour and greater responsibility for me to direct this screenplay which Dennis Kelly and I are adapting from Kazuo Ishiguro's profound and imaginative novel."

Netflix film boss Scott Stuber added: "Guillermo del Toro is a visionary filmmaker and master of his craft. We couldn't be more proud of the prestigious recognition for his 'Pinocchio', and we're pleased to continue our creative partnership as he develops his next project with Netflix."

Meanwhile, Del Toro recently insisted that the future of cinema "will define itself in the coming decade" after a period of change amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The 58-year-old director said: "Everybody wants a definition when we’re in the middle of a transition, a change and a crisis all at the same time.

"We just survived the transformation of delivery, the arrival of a pandemic and everybody thinks that we should be able to define where we’re going in a year or two.

"We will not. It will define itself in the incoming decade. And the most important thing is to keep the size of the idea big."