The sequel to Guillermo del Toro’s 2013 mecha-kaiju-brawler Pacific Rim has come a long way from its humble beginnings. The movie was originally helmed by Del Toro until he ultimately decided to step down. The reason for this seems to boil down to scheduling: due to Legendary Pictures being sold to Chinese company The Wanda Group, production needed to be delayed by nearly a year. It was then that Daredevil’s Steven DeKnight took over directorial duties. Since then, the film has undergone a massive makeover, which is clearly evident in the first trailer.
So, what would have Guillermo’s film have looked like? Speaking to Collider. Paul Austerberry — who served as production designer for the original Pacific Rim — revealed how Pacific Rim 2 was originally going to end:
“And then of course I think we finished in the west coast, I think it was San Francisco that we were gonna end up in. San Francisco, where so many disaster movies take place. We were gonna destroy it with the great big battle between the kaiju and the big robots, so that was gonna be pretty exciting. So yeah, was I disappointed we didn’t do that? Of course I was, that would have been a fun giant movie to work on.”
Austerberry also revealed that the film was going to head to China, and that they were planning on “using the river and the craziness of Shanghai”. Though, given that the film is being financed by The Wanda Group, it’s likely that this location may have been kept. Lastly, he revealed that at least once scene was going to be set in the desert.
Are you excited for Pacific Rim Uprising? Would you have preferred to see Guillermo del Toro back in the director’s chair? Let us know in the comments!
The globe-spanning conflict between otherworldly monsters of mass destruction and the human-piloted super-machines built to vanquish them was only a prelude to the all-out assault on humanity in Pacific Rim Uprising.
John Boyega (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) stars as the rebellious Jake Pentecost, a once-promising Jaeger pilot whose legendary father gave his life to secure humanity’s victory against the monstrous “Kaiju.” Jake has since abandoned his training only to become caught up in a criminal underworld. But when an even more unstoppable threat is unleashed to tear through our cities and bring the world to its knees, he is given one last chance to live up to his father’s legacy by his estranged sister, Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi)—who is leading a brave new generation of pilots that have grown up in the shadow of war. As they seek justice for the fallen, their only hope is to unite together in a global uprising against the forces of extinction.
Jake is joined by gifted rival pilot Lambert (The Fate of the Furious’ Scott Eastwood) and 15-year-old Jaeger hacker Amara (newcomer Cailee Spaeny), as the heroes of the PPDC become the only family he has left. Rising up to become the most powerful defense force to ever walk the earth, they will set course for a spectacular all-new adventure on a towering scale.
Pacific Rim Uprising sees Steven S. DeKnight (Daredevil) directing a cast that includes John Boyega (Star Wars: The Last Jedi), Adria Arjona (True Detective), Scott Eastwood (Suicide Squad), Cailee Spaeny (Counting to 1,000), Levi Meaden (Aftermath), Karan Brar (Diary of a Wimpy Kid), Nick Tarabay (Spartacus), Zhang Jin (Ip Man 3), Mackenyu (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure) and Jing Tian (Police Story: Lockdown), while Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day and Burn Gorman reprise their roles from the first film. It is set for release on March 23rd 2018.
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Originally published December 14, 2017. Updated December 19, 2019.
