Twenty years after its original release, Pan's Labyrinth remains one of Guillermo del Toro's most celebrated films. The filmmaker has continued exploring monsters, outsiders, and gothic storytelling throughout his career, most recently with his acclaimed adaptation of Frankenstein on Netflix.
Released in 2006, the dark fantasy is set in post-Civil War Spain in 1944 and follows Ofelia (Ivana Baquero), a young girl who escapes the brutality of her world through a mysterious fantasy realm. There, she encounters a Faun (Doug Jones) who tells her she is a long-lost princess and tasks her with completing three dangerous trials. The film went on to earn six Academy Award nominations and win three, including Best Cinematography for Guillermo Navarro, whose work helped create some of Pan's Labyrinth's most recognizable imagery.
Pan's Labyrinth is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a theatrical re-release on October 9, 2026. The film will return in 4K and premium 3D, giving longtime fans and a new generation the opportunity to experience del Toro's fantasy on the big screen.
As part of the movie's anniversary celebration at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) 2026, The Direct spoke with Ofelia actress Ivana Baquero, Faun and Pale Man performer Doug Jones, and Oscar-winning cinematographer Guillermo Navarro about the film's lasting legacy, how their relationship with it has changed over two decades, and why its themes remain relevant today. The anniversary celebration also included a Hall H panel featuring del Toro, Baquero, and Jones.
For more fantasy coverage from SDCC, check out The Direct's roundtable interview coverage of Peacock's upcoming Dungeon Crawler Carl adaptation.
Ivana Baquero Sees Pan's Labyrinth Differently 20 Years Later
Captain Vidal Feels Even More Relevant Today
Ivana Baquero was a child when she starred as Ofelia, and she explained that revisiting Pan's Labyrinth as an adult has allowed her to find new meaning in the film:
Ivana Baquero: Now there's different things I draw from it, things I discover... as I experience my own hardship and my own heartbreak that I can then identify within the movie, and that maybe I wasn't as aware of when I was a kid.
During her latest viewing, Baquero was particularly struck by Captain Vidal's brutality:
Baquero: The last time I watched it, I was really taken aback by Captain Vidal and his brutality and his evilness. I think, in a way, it was very telling of the state of the world right now... It's beautiful to see it now as an adult and rediscover things.
Despite Vidal's terrifying presence in the film, Baquero revealed that Sergi López couldn't have been more different behind the scenes:
Baquero: Sergi López is known more as a comedic actor, and so he has the most wonderful, sweet energy and just so much light. He had to do a lot of work to darken that and even lower the pitch of his voice to be more intimidating. Being on set and seeing him morph into Captain Vidal was certainly a lesson for me as an actor.
Doug Jones on Pan's Labyrinth's Real Monsters
"The Real Monsters in His Movies Are Usually a Human"
While Doug Jones portrayed the Faun and Pale Man, Pan's Labyrinth taught him that del Toro's most frightening monsters aren't necessarily the creatures.
- The Direct: "When you look back at Pan's Labyrinth, what do you think it taught you, not just as an actor, but as a storyteller?"
Doug Jones: It taught me that monsters don't always wear rubber and glue. The real monsters in his movies are usually a human. It's abusing authority or going off the rails somehow, and the monsters are actually more of an extension of us humans. I have felt like a monster in a room full of people before, like I'm the one who doesn't fit in..."
That fascination with monsters and darker fantasy has remained a defining element of del Toro's work, even extending to his once-planned version of Disney's Haunted Mansion.
The film also marked an important turning point for Jones. Although he was once again covered in prosthetics, Jones became heavily involved in promoting Pan's Labyrinth in the United States. Twenty years later, its impact hasn't faded:
Doug Jones: I was an anonymous actor for a long time. I was in many, many big movies that nobody knew me because this face never showed. All of a sudden, this face was on for the public, and that was a page-turning moment for me... That movie will live on as a calling card for me to this day.
Guillermo Navarro Looks Back at Pan's Labyrinth's Iconic Imagery
Filming Pan's Labyrinth Was a "Brutal Experience"
Navarro won an Academy Award for the cinematography of Pan's Labyrinth, but creating the film was far from easy.
Guillermo Navarro: We are both Mexicans. We learned how to deal with adversity, and the movie is a very big representation of that. For us, it was fighting together to achieve what we wanted... Shooting that movie was very, very challenging, and we came through."
Navarro emphasized that the movie's visual identity resulted from every department working together:
Navarro: It was a communal process... It's the work of so many departments that really were in sync with this. Every element is very unique, and it sort of was the perfect storm to create this beautiful, brutal drama.
When asked which images still stand out 20 years later, Guillermo Navarro immediately mentioned the Pale Man sequence. But he also revealed that Captain Vidal's memorable mirror-shaving scene was filmed at the very beginning of production:
Guillermo Navarro: Remember all the shots of the captain shaving with that mirror? That was the first day of shooting. We had to get rid of that set to build another one. There were many things that happened on that set that were completely out of order, and it was like a miracle that they all came and played its perfect role.
Why Pan's Labyrinth Still Matters 20 Years Later
For Guillermo Navarro, Pan's Labyrinth's continued relevance says something about both the film and the world audiences are living in:
Navarro: The fact that 20 years after it's still relevant not only speaks very well about the movie, but speaks that society is still in a place where we have to fight for things. It's important that movies like this have that kind of influence.
Doug Jones similarly believes the film's exploration of imagination remains universal:
Doug Jones: This movie is magical, and it does offer us some escape, but also escape to a place where we can find victory as an underdog. I think we can relate to the idea of fantasy helping us deal with our real lives.
And Guillermo Navarro hopes the anniversary allows an entirely new audience to discover that message:
Navarro: My hope is that there will be a new wave, a new generation that is going to encounter it for the first time, and it's going to hopefully stimulate that human spirit of what the movie gives you.
It's clear that Pan's Labyrinth continues to resonate with new generations of viewers. As Baquero, Jones, and Navarro's reflections show, its combination of fantasy, brutality, and hope remains just as powerful today as it was in 2006.
