Guillermo del Toro‘s Pacific Rim is one of the most anticipated films of 2013, and it looks like the studio, Legendary Entertainment, is figuring that anticipation equals success as THR reports that the studio is already planning a sequel to the sci-fi epic.
A few weeks ago del Toro confirmed that him and Travis Beacham were discussing the possibility of a sequel. Well now Legendary has gotten the ball rolling, officially hiring Beacham to co-write the script with del Toro, but it is still uncertain if del Toro will direct. Remember, the director is already committed to Crimson Peak, another Legendary film, which has been described as a modern take on the classic haunted-house story.
Crimson Peak is looking to start shooting over a year from now, in January of 2014. If del Toro is working on that film throughout 2014, this Pacific Rim sequel wouldn’t be able to start until at least 2015, which may be much more time between films than the studio is willing to allow.
There are certainly plenty of directors who could step in and do quality work with del Toro’s script, and just because del Toro isn’t at the helm doesn’t mean he won’t be involved with the actual production and post-production processes, but it may still be worth the wait to let del Toro do the actual directing.
It may seem extremely premature to already be looking into a sequel, but even though anticipation doesn’t necessarily lead to a quality film, it does lead to big box office numbers, so from that aspect Legendary doesn’t seem to be taking too much of a risk.
It certainly may be too early to decide this, but if what we’ve seen and heard about Pacific Rim is any indication, it will certainly warrant a sequel. Del Toro is definitely in his element here considering the film has a monsters vs. robots aspect and the cast is awesome as well, with the likes of Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Ron Perlman, Charlie Day and Clifton Collins Jr. starring.
Whether a sequel is warranted won’t be known until the film releases on July 12, 2013, but here’s to hoping Pacific Rim leaves fans begging for more.
