Everything – and I do mean EVERYTHING – is a franchise now. No such thing as a standalone film has been made or ever will be made again. There will always be a sequel. So it’s no surprise that Pacific Rim, a film that has not even come out yet, has already resulted in the script for Pacific Rim 2.
Legendary Pictures commissioned a sequel script for Pacific Rim way back in December 2012. Director Guillermo del Toro has hinted at the possible sequel, and Travis Beacham has supposedly written that script. Now we just have to see how Pacific Rim actually does at the box office.
But why stop there? Pacific Rim also has a prequel graphic novel in the works and a video game tie-in. I expect to hear news of a theme park ride before long.
Now, I love Guillermo del Toro, and I’m legitimately looking forward to Pacific Rim, but isn’t this jumping the gun just a little bit? I’m nervous to start speculating on what form Pacific Rim 2 will take before I’ve even seen Pacific Rim. This is not an already established franchise a la Star Wars. This a brand new story with a brand new mythology, so banking on a sequel, much less a franchise, seems to be a little dangerous.
Legendary CEO Thomas Tull feels the same way, and has said pretty unequivocally that a sequel will depend on the audience and how Pacific Rim actually does. While it seems like the film is a shoe-in for a summer blockbuster, I’ve heard a number of people comment that it looks like Transformers vs. Monsters. As successful as those films are, I don’t know that that’s the impression del Toro wants to give.
We’ll know about the future of Pacific Rim 2 when the first film comes out on July 12.
