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Has Pacific Rim: Maelstrom Been Hit With A Delay?

Had it not been for an impressive box office haul overseas - to the tune of $309 million in 2013 - a sequel to Pacific Rim may never have existed. Guillermo del Toro's gargantuan creature feature carved out a niche audience despite winning over few critics and now, after cancelling an apocalypse in the most epic fashion imaginable, Legendary is gearing up for another CG-laden blockbuster. Only according to a new rumor presented by Latino Review, the follow-up - known as Pacific Rim: Maelstrom - has been hit with an unforeseen delay, calling its tentative 2017 release date into question.

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Had it not been for an impressive box office haul overseas – to the tune of $309 million in 2013 – a sequel to Pacific Rim may never have existed. Guillermo del Toro’s gargantuan creature feature carved out a niche audience despite winning over few critics and now, after cancelling an apocalypse in the most epic fashion imaginable, Legendary is gearing up for another CG-laden blockbuster. Only according to a new rumor presented by Latino Review, the follow-up – known as Pacific Rim: Maelstrom has been hit with an unforeseen delay, calling its tentative 2017 release date into question.

Back in July, it was reported that the monstorous sequel would enter production this fall – November, to be specific – in Toronto, though the outlet states sources close to the nascent project have revealed that production has now been pushed into 2016. Naturally, given the VFX-heavy nature of Pacific Rim: Maelstrom, such a change of plan would result in Legendary altering the release date, perhaps postponing the film into 2018.

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What we do know is that Pacific Rim 2 will act as del Toro’s next project following the release of anticipated gothic horror Crimson Peak. His return to helm the follow-up was meet with cheers of joy from the film’s devotees, and based on its reputation with the Comic-Con audience, it’s clear that Pacific Rim enjoys the status of a cult hit.

In terms of Maelstrom‘s plot, early reports indicated that the sequel would take place a few years after the events of the original film, where humanity was finally beginning to rebuild after the category 5 Kaiju that threatened to spill out from the breach. Could del Toro’s follow-up explore a different breed of Kaiju beyond the Serizawa Scale? Time will tell.

Pacific Rim: Maelstrom has been tentatively slated for a release on August 4, 2017, though we’ll keep you updated should we learn of a change of schedule.