Though fans couldn’t get enough of ‘Pacific Rim,’ chances of a sequel looked slim. The box office numbers weren’t where the studio would have liked them to be, but eventually when figures started to roll in from oversees, especially in Asian markets, things started to look up. Still, director Guillermo Del Toro talked about the continuation of the epic Jaegers vs. Kaiju tale like it may not happen. Luckily, Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures have changed their tunes after a few years because production on the next chapter is set to begin later this year. Now, we’ve learned when the film is scheduled to hit theaters and what it could be called when it gets there.
According to Global News, ‘Pacific Rim 2’ will be known as ‘Maelstrom’ and it will be released on August 4, 2017. The film will shoot at the Toronto campus of Pinewood Studios in November and stars such as Charlie Hunnam, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, and Burn Gorman are expected to return, though no official announcements have been made. Ron Perlman, who may appear as Hellboy again if this sequel goes well, could also make a comeback to Del Toro’s beloved monsters vs. robots series as Hannibal Chau.
While all this is good news, it’s also worth noting that ‘Maelstrom’ is actually just the working title for the film. When projects go into production, they often go by a different name for a number of reasons. For example, when ‘Star Wars: Return of the Jedi’ was shooting, it went under the name ‘Blue Harvest’. So don’t expect to see any ‘Pacific Rim 2’ posters with that name on it. However, if you’re in the Toronto area this fall, keep an eye out for film crews working on ‘Maelstrom’ if you want a sneak peek at what’s to come with Raleigh, Mako, Newt, Gottlieb, and the rest of the ‘Pacific Rim’ gang.
Are you excited for ‘Pacific Rim 2’? What do you hope happens in the sequel? And do you think that it will be more of a success than the first one in the eyes of the studio? Sound off in the comments.
