In a message to his fans posted on YouTube, Guillermo del Toro has confirmed that his robots-versus-monsters blockbuster "Pacific Rim" is getting a sequel.
Del Toro has made no secret of his desire to revisit his future world of Kaiju and Jaegers, but there was some doubt that it would happen, since the first film underperformed domestically. Fortunately, "Pacific Rim" cleaned up elsewhere, with overseas totals more than tripling its U.S. haul.
"The first film set the stage and now we're ready to have a blast," del Toro told BuzzFeed. He also confirmed that he expects all of the major characters that survived the first film to return for the second, but that "we are taking them into a fresh territory that will display amazing sights and battles." Travis Beacham, who originally conceived of "Pacific Rim," is helping to write the sequel, along with del Toro and screenwriter Zak Penn. Legendary Pictures will once again produce, but Universal will distribute instead of Warner Bros., due to the end of a long-term deal between Legendary and Warner.
In addition to a second film, del Toro also mentioned development of an animated series based on the franchise. Legendary will presumably produce this animated series as well, but del Toro gave no details about it, such as its setting (prequel? sequel? concurrent with different characters?) or when and where we can expect to see it. Del Toro's plate is a mighty full one, with production nearing its end on horror flick "Crimson Peak," his heavy involvement with FX's adaptation of his novel trilogy "The Strain," and now "Pacific Rim 2" and an animated series.
One footnote: writer Zak Penn's involvement in the sequel may give some fans a moment of pause. Penn is the screenwriter behind several subpar genre films including "X-Men: The Last Stand," "Elektra," and the live action "Inspector Gadget." On the other hand, he also reportedly contributed to the storylines of "X-Men 2," "The Avengers," and the not-entirely-awful "The Incredible Hulk." And most of his creative failures can at least partially be credited to heavy-handed studio involvement and the "artistic" contributions of certain directors (*cough*BrettRatner*cough*). So his work can't be all bad, right?
"Pacific Rim 2" is set to hit theaters in IMAX and 3D on April 7, 2017. Del Toro's "Crimson Peak" arrives October 16, 2015. "The Strain" premieres on FX on July 13, 2014.
