Pacific Rim was one of those movie surprises: it was a giant monster action flick, sure, but its story and characters were actually pretty well-developed.
It was a far cry from the B-movies and countless anime that inspired it — however, despite its quality, the movie never really resonated with American audiences. It did well, to be sure, but not well enough to guarantee a sequel.
A glimmer of hope came when the film absolutely dominated overseas sales, with China in particular generating most of the proceeds. After the film's success was confirmed, Guillermo del Toro (the film's director) began working on its sequels — fans even got a release date before the production team went quiet.
Sadly, in the following months, there's been no news of any kind on Pacific Rim 2. Most fans assumed that del Toro was simply focusing on his upcoming film, Crimson Peak, and that they'd hear more once the movie hit theaters. Surprisingly, the news came early ... and it's not good. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Pacific Rim 2 has been "halted indefinitely."
"Legendary wanted to produce a sequel to del Toro's Pacific Rim ... but for now the project — which had been ramping up to make a release date in August 2017 — has been halted indefinitely and will be pushed back (if it gets made at all)."
It's sad news for anyone hoping to see del Toro's unique brand of mecha action on the big screen. Of course, the director's no stranger when it comes to movies getting stuck in development limbo (just look at Hellboy III), but the fact that fans already had a release date just makes the news that much harder to swallow.
It's still too early to say that Pacific Rim 2 is gone for good — but considering the circumstances, don't expect to see it in theaters any time soon.
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