2) The Cast Is Still Great (And There’s A Neat New Prospective Addition)
One thing that clearly doesn’t need changing from Pacific Rim for the sequel is the cast, an eclectic global collective of character actors that del Toro seems more than happy to use again. The director has already spoken of writing for “Newt and Gottlieb and Herc and Raleigh” in his Pacific Rim 2 script, meaning Charlie Day, Burn Gorman, Max Martini and Charlie Hunnam will all return. It’s also said that Rinko Kikuchi will again be part of the team as Mako Mori, while Ron Perlman has said “the odds are good” of audiences seeing Hannibal Chau again.
Unfortunately, the film may have lost Idris Elba (that’s unconfirmed, though considering Stacker Pentecost nuked himself to death in the first film, it’s unlikely Elba will be back), but it does have one new neat cast addition: Maisie Williams. Yes, Game of Thrones‘ own Arya Stark is being lined up by del Toro to play a brand new Jaeger pilot if his follow-up goes ahead.
Expect more interesting casting decisions to follow, if the money comes through.