With its larger-than-life storyline and dazzling sense of spectacle, on paper, Pacific Rim is a near-perfect match for the world of animation – and that’s exactly what Guillermo del Toro hopes to do, assuming all the colossal pieces fall into place.
Collider caught up with the decorated filmmaker to discuss everything from his canned adaptation of At the Mountains of Madness – an R rating was to blame for a lack of momentum, before Universal ultimately pulled the plug – to the moment when he pitched a series of Star Wars ideas to Lucasfilm head honcho Kathleen Kennedy. Alas, nothing materialized from the latter meeting as del Toro is currently too focused on his own material.
It didn’t take long before the conversation circled back toward the vibrant world of Pacific Rim, though. Scheduling conflicts were to blame for the director not returning at the helm for 2018’s Pacific Rim: Uprising – Daredevil showrunner Steven S. DeKnight will take up the reins instead – but it should be noted that the Mexican filmmaker remains attached as a producer, and reportedly has a hand in the story along with Emily Carmichael, Kira Snyder and T.S. Nowlin.
When quizzed about the future of the series, del Toro then admitted that he would “love” to jump-start an animated show based on the Jaeger vs. Kaiju franchise – Netflix was presented as one possible platform, to which del Toro admitted it would be “a great place” to establish the spinoff series. Ultimately, the director conceded that he doesn’t run the company, and that a decision of such importance rests in the hands of the Powers That Be. The fact that Legendary changed hands just prior to Pacific Rim 2 entering pre-production also exacerbates matters – more red tape for him to work around, essentially – but one thing’s for sure: Guillermo del Toro isn’t about to give up hope anytime soon.
Pacific Rim: Uprising deploys into theaters on February 23rd, 2018.
