Fire up the Jaegers – the Kaiju are returning to theaters. Legendary and Universal Pictures have stomped out a date for the highly-anticipated monster sequel Pacific Rim 2, with the movie now set to arrive on February 23, 2018.
Production is scheduled to get underway in the latter half of the year, with a scant few details on the plot available for consumption. The first movie starred Charlie Hunnam as a roguish Jaeger operator, alongside Idris Elba as the man tasked with giving inspirational speeches and generally overseeing those towering ‘bots as they fought to save mankind. From massive monsters.
From the casting announcements so far, neither actor is scheduled to return. But a thread to Elba’s character remains, as The Force Awakens‘ John Boyega recently signed on to lead the franchise into the future as Stacker Pentecost’s son.
A follow-up to the 2013 original wasn’t always on the cards after it struggled to recoup its budget at the domestic box office. It was only when the Guillermo Del Toro-directed flick soared to the top of the charts overseas that a second outing was greenlit. The horror auteur will step down from the director’s chair this time though, handing over those duties to Steven S. DeKnight (Daredevil).
Today’s news brings plenty of reasons to get excited. Mainly because – it was rumored that Pacific Rim 2 wouldn’t be arriving until the end of 2018. With word that it’s now barreling down on a February 2018 release date, expect to hear more casting news in the coming weeks.
