The Hollywood Reporter is saying production on Pacific Rim 2 has been halted indefinitely, as the relationship between Legendary and Warner Bros. breaks down.
Update: Guillermo del Toro responds to news of his film’s demise: “We are still turning in a screenplay and a budget in three weeks. As far as I’m concerned, it’s not gone. We’re still on it.” So… here’s hoping!
Original Story: Somewhere, Guillermo del Toro is very, very sad.
Despite the critical and relative financial success of the Mexican director’s Pacific Rim, production on the sequel to 2013’s kaiju smash-em-up has been halted indefinitely, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Originally slated to release in the summer of 2017, Pacific Rim 2: Maelstrom has been put on hiatus thanks to dissolving relations between Legendary and Warner Bros. Legendary Pictures was keen to continue developing the film since its predecessor did so well in China, where Legendary is heavily invested; Warner has since backed out, though, supposedly due to the sequel’s big budget versus its foreseeable low pay-off.
Del Toro, at least, has other projects in the pipeline. His Crimson Peak comes out later this year, and rumors of a Hellboy 3 have been swirling for ages.
I don’t know about you guys, but this is pretty disappointing news for me. Pacific Rim was easily one of my favorite films that year, and del Toro is a reliably spectacular director. Did such a solid movie really need a sequel, though?
Source: Hollywood Reporter