New report claims ‘Pacific Rim 2’ will be delayed, maybe cancelled
Pacific Rim 2 reportedly has just hit a major roadblock, having been “halted indefinitely,” after rumors of delays circulated. The THR says that could mean the film will just arrive a bit later than we’d hoped; it may also mean it’ll never get made.
Director Guillermo del Toro appeared to be returning for the Pacific Rim sequel with Legendary, but the THR says the studio appears to be pulling out. In fact, del Toro was working on early plans for Pacific Rim 2 before the first film even opened.
They noted that Universal, “the studio bowed out of paying for half of Guillermo del Toro’s Crimson Peak (Oct. 16). The studio had said it would share the cost only if the film got a PG-13 rating; a source says Langley believed the movie cost too much for an R rating. With del Toro now having delivered an R, Legendary is footing the whole bill….Legendary wanted to produce a sequel to del Toro’s Pacific Rim, which was made under the Warner’s deal and turned into one of those films that grosses a lot ($411 million worldwide) while being so costly that a follow-up isn’t a sure thing. Sources say Legendary liked that the original performed exceptionally well in China, where the company is heavily invested, but for now the project — which had been ramping up to make a release date in August 2017 — has been halted indefinitely and will be pushed back (if it gets made at all).”
No word from THR why, other than money.
Production seemed likely to begin soon, slated for a release by Universal on August 4, 2017.
Slash Film noted that “The production budget for the original Pacific Rim 2 was reported to be $190 million. That’s a lot less than, say, Avengers: Age of Ultron ($250 million) but a good sight more than Jurassic World ($150 million). It’s also enough money that we can understand why these companies would be hesitant about diving in with a follow-up.”
Del Toro had started making plans for Pacific Rim 2 before the first one even hit theaters. Initially, the original’s poor performance at the domestic box office ($101 million, or a little over half the production budget) made a sequel look like a pipe dream. But the sci-fi actioner rallied overseas, making a killing in China, and so Legendary decided to proceed with a follow-up.
The new film would feature stars Charlie Hunnam, Charlie Day, Burn Gorman, and probably Rinko Kikuchi. The script was by del Toro, Travis Beacham, and Zak Penn and picks up a few years after the events of the first film, with more kaiju action.
It was also supposed to pave the way for Pacific Rim 3.