First previews for PACIFIC RIM: UPRISING

The first promo material has been unveiled for Pacific Rim: Uprising, the sequel to the 2013 movie where giant robots punched giant monsters in the face and was way more fun than it should have been.

Uprising is set ten years after the first movie, with Earth facing a renewed Kaiju threat. A new generation of jaegars, more powerful and capable than those in the first movie, stand ready to meet them. John Boyega (Attack the Block, the new Star Wars movies) stars as Jake Pentecost, the son of Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba) from the first movie, whilst Rinko Kikuchi reprises her role as Mako Maori. Charlie Hunnam, who starred in the first movie, is not returning due to a scheduling conflict.

This sequel will also feature a more international cast, with Chinese actors Jing Tian and Zhang Jin having a large role, a nod to the first movie's enormous success in China and the involvement of a Chinese production company in co-producing the movie.

Guillermo Del Toro is still on board as a writer and producer, but Steven S. DeKnight (Daredevil, Spartacus) is directing this second movie in the series.

Pacific Rim: Uprising will be released on 23 February 2018. You can see a snazzy website with some more info on the world and characters here.

PACIFIC RIM 2 re-greenlit for 2018

It was on, off and now back on again. Universal and Legendary Pictures are moving ahead with Pacific Rim 2, probably for a 2018 release date.

The original movie did reasonably well at the box office (especially internationally) but wasn't a smash hit, so there was a bit of a wait before the sequel was confirmed, originally for 2017. However, having greenlit the movie Universal decided to put it on ice whilst it sorted out its development and production schedules. This has unfortunately meant that Guillermo Del Toro will be unable to return to direct, having already moved on to other projects. However, Del Toro will still co-write (with Jon Spaihts) and produce the movie.

The new director is Steven S. DeKnight, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer veteran who went on to create Spartacus and is currently working on Netflix's Daredevil. The film will be DeKnight's directorial debut.

PACIFIC RIM 2 put on indefinite hold, Del Toro considers new projects

Guillermo Del Toro's next flick was supposed to be Pacific Rim 2, the sequel to his 2012 mech-vs-monster action movie. Although only a modest success in the United States, it was a strong worldwide hit and the movie had been greenlit to begin shooting in the New Year for a 2017 release.

Unfortunately, the movie has run afoul of a political game of football between the production company, Legendary, and the studio releasing the film, Universal (Warner Brothers released the first film, but Universal has inherited the sequel). The two publicly remain committed to the film, and Guillermo Del Toro has said he wants Game of Thrones actress Maisie Williams to join the cast, but it now has no production or release date.

Del Toro has also indicated he may put another film into production before Pacific Rim 2. There is no word on what the film may be, but Del Toro has been talking recently about some of his favourite vampire and horror books, including Alone with the Horrors by Ramsay Campbell, The Vampire Tapestry by Suzy McKee and Fevre Dream by George R.R. Martin. With Del Toro producing The Strain, a TV series about vampires (or, more accurately, vampire-zombie hybrids), it may be less likely that his next work will again be about the undead bloodsuckers, but if so he's got some great inspiration going on.

He also mentions Martin's Sandkings, an SF short story that was, prior to A Song of Ice and Fire, probably Martin's best-known work. It was previously filmed (in a very different form) as the first episode of the newer The Outer Limits in 1996, but a more faithful, big-budget feature film version would be brilliant.

PACIFIC RIM 2 confirmed for 2017

Guillermo Del Toro has confirmed that Pacific Rim 2 will be released on 7 April 2017. He and Zak Penn will be writing the script, working from outlines and drafts by Travis Beacham (who wrote the first movie).

In addition, there will be more Pacific Rim comic books and a new animated series as well. It appears that Legendary Pictures have decided to go the whole hog in franchising the movie after taking their time to consider its modest success. The first movie, released in July 2013, made $411 million worldwide from a budget of $190 million. However, the film did rather poorly in the United States and was only a really big smash hit in China, where it made over $114 million.

Having thoroughly enjoyed the first film, I approve this news and will be there to see the sequel.