AN Oscar-winning Hollywood director has been spotted in Scotland “scouting for locations” for his next project.

Guillermo del Toro, who has won three Oscars for his work on The Shape of Water and Pinocchio, shared a snap of himself in Edinburgh on Wednesday.

Sharing an image of himself with the Scott Monument in the background, del Toro wrote: “Scouting for Locations… Day 4.”

He then shared a second picture alongside Guy Davis, an artist and production designer who has worked on del Toro’s Oscar-winning movies.

There was speculation among fans that del Toro was scoping out places to shoot his upcoming live-action Frankenstein movie.

“Check out the Surgeon's Hall for suitably Frankenstein-esque inspirations,” writer Kayleigh Donaldson suggested to the director.

Other Twitter users suggested castles such as Dunnotar, and one person wrote: “Want a good location spot? Check out Dean Village. It's about a 15-minute walk from where you are in this picture!”

Very little is known about the Frankenstein film so far, but reports have suggested that stars including Andrew Garfield, Oscar Isaac, and Mia Goth are in early talks to star.

Del Toro – who is from Mexico and known for hits such as Pan's Labyrinth – is also working on an animated version of British nobel laureate’s Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Buried Giant.

His appearance in Edinburgh comes after another Hollywood megastar, Samuel L Jackson, was spotted in a few locations in the Scottish central belt while working on a new project.