Pacific Rim 2 is back on track, with one important caveat: Guillermo Del Toro is no longer directing it.
For a while, fans were worried that Pacific Rim wouldn’t get a sequel at all, although Del Toro was adamant that the film was still going into production. Now, Deadline reports that Pacific Rim 2 will be directed by Steven S. DeKnight, best known as the showrunner of Spartacus and the first season of Marvel‘s Daredevil.
Del Toro’s departure is something of a surprise, as Pacific Rim was so clearly his brainchild. But he’s spoken in recent months about making films on a smaller scale; after last year’s Crimson Peak, he admitted that he had been offered “gigantic films in the superhero genre” but turned them down in favor of working on his own projects.
Met w DeKnight and we are all so happy with our choice to take Pac Rim 2to where we know it can go!!
— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) February 24, 2016
Pacific Rim co-writer Travis Beacham has also been replaced for the sequel, with screenwriter Jon Spaights (Prometheus, Doctor Strange) writing the new script.
Pacific Rim 2 was originally planned for a 2017 release, but this now seems very unlikely. On the bright side, actors Charlie Hunnam and Rinko Kikuchi are expected to return, and Del Toro is sticking around as the film’s producer.
Photo via Pacific Rim
