Last week, an unconfirmed rumor claimed thatGuillermo del Toro’sPacific Rim 2was being delayed, withproductionpushed to sometime in 2016, instead of this fall. That report spawned another rumor that the sequel has actually been delayed “indefinitely,” and that it may not see the light of day at all.Entertainment Weeklyreached out to Guillermo del Toro, who confirms that the project did get delayed, but the sequel is still happening.
“We are still turning in a screenplay and a budget in three weeks. As far as I’m concerned, it’s not gone. We’re still on it. It moved further. I may do another movie in the middle.”
Pacific Rim 2was praised by the nation’s critics, earning a 72% “Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but it didn’t exactly set thebox officeon fire. It earned just $101.8 million at the domestic box office, but performed much better internationally, taking in $309.2 million for a worldwide tally of $411 million. While those numbers aren’t poor by any means, the film cost a whopping $190 million to make, and there were rumors that the original movie’s cost may have been a factor in “delaying” the sequel. As for the other movie in the “middle” he may make beforePacific Rim 2, the filmmaker has already hinted what that may be as well.
Back in July 2014,Guillermo del Tororevealed that he planned on shooting a small, black and white “creature feature” sometime in early 2015. It isn’t known if he actually went ahead and started production on that project, but if filming was pushed onPacific Rim 2, we may know more about it soon. The filmmaker didn’t divulge any story details last summer, but he did say that he wanted to castJohn Hurtand an unknown actress who he saw in a short film. The director also joked that if he was a billionaire, he would already have three projects lined up and ready to go.
“I can tell you this, if I was a billionaire, I would definitely doHellboy 3,Pacific Rim 2, andAt the Mountains of Madness. And I would quickly become a millionaire.”
There is speculation thatPacific Rim 2is being delayed because Warner Bros. is moving forward withKong: Skull Island(August 14, 2025),Godzilla 2(August 01, 2025) andGodzilla Vs King Kong, which all feature gigantic monsters. It’s possible that the studio doesn’t want to confuse the kaiju inPacific Rim 2with the rest of these creatures, but we don’t know that for sure. The director did add that he is very excited forGodzilla Vs King Kong, although he wants them both to win.
“Even when I was a 10-year-old geek, I never engaged in those things. I would like them both to win, and come over to my house for dinner.”
As of now,Pacific Rim 2is still set for an August 4, 2017release date, but don’t be surprised if that is moved in the near future. Are you disappointed thatPacific Rim 2is further off than we originally hoped? Let us know what you think, and stay tuned for more updates on this highly-anticipated sequel.
