Unfortunately for the fans, "Pacific Rim 2" has just hit a roadblock as huge as a 'Kaiju.' The highly-anticipated sci-fi action sequel is reportedly been "halted indefinitely." Rumor has it that the film could arrive a bit later than expected or never get made at all.
Hollywood Reporter broke the bad news about Legendary's offscreen drama with Universal and Warner Bros. It seems that Guillermo del Toro's goal to shoot "Pacific Rim 2" in November - which is for release by Universal on August 4, 2017 - will most likely be pushed back or, worst, cancelled.
There's no specific detail to why exactly Universal is backing out with the said sequel, except that it all boils down to money. As what /Film reported, "Pacific Rim is one of those films that gross a lot ($411M worldwide) while being so costly that a follow-up isn't a sure thing."
"Pacific Rim 2" was said to get a $190M budget for the production alone, something that is a lot less than "Avengers: Age of Ultron" ($250M), for example. It seems that having enough money is surely the reason behind why companies are hesitant with a follow-up.
On the other hand, according to IGN, if these rumors are true, it is undoubtedly a huge blow to del Toro, who's already been mapping out plans for a third film.
One absolute perspective is the fact that the original had a poor performance at the domestic box office - only amassing $101M, or a bit over half the production budget; thus made the sequel more or less a pipe dream. However, the sci-fi action film conquered overseas, making an empire in China. As a result, Legendary initially decided to proceed with a sequel.
Stars Charlie Hunnam, Charlie Day, Burn Gorman and Rinko Kikuchi - all of which are expected to be back for Pacific Rim 2 - are yet to confirm the reported drawback as of this writing.
Join the Conversation