Pacific Rim released in 2013 to largely positive reviews, and while the box-office was disappointing for a summer blockbuster, many fans have been clamoring for a sequel ever since. On and off, over the years, we have heard ideas being thrown around about sequels until we finally got an official announcement in the form of Pacific Rim: Uprising.
All was well until it was announced that Guillermo del Toro wouldn’t be returning to the director’s chair (a position subsequently filled by Steven S. DeKnight). Recently, in an interview with Collider, Del Toro opened up about what made him decide to pass the torch:
“The timing started to suck. I had this little movie that I wanted to do—The Shape of Water—very, very much. At one point it was Justice League Dark or Pacific Rim, I said, ‘Let’s go to Pacific Rim.’ The reality is they said, ‘We’re gonna need to postpone,’ because they were changing hands—Legendary was going to be sold to China, to a Chinese company [called the Wanda Group]. They said, ‘We’ve gotta wait nine months’ and I said, ‘I’m not waiting nine months, I’m shooting a movie,’ and I went and shot [The Shape of Water] and we chose Steven DeKnight.”
While it’s certainly disappointing that Del Toro is not directing the upcoming sequel, he does have very positive things to say about his replacement:
“It was such a great choice. I mean I love [DeKnight], love what he does, I think he’s really brilliant. He’s making it his own. I’m not breathing over his shoulder saying, ‘What are you doing? What are you doing?’ He’s doing things differently and I like that.”
Pacific Rim: Uprising sees Steven S. DeKnight (Daredevil) directing a cast that includes John Boyega (Star Wars: The Force Awakens), 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 February 23rd 2018.
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