Ever since Legendary was bought by the Chinese mega-company Dailan Wanda Group, 'Pacific Rim 2' has had a breath of fresh air blown into it's sails. China loved the first film, and was a substantial chunk of its three-hundred million dollar international take. Recently, we saw proof of its resurrection in both the hiring of Stephen S. DeKnight and Derek Connolly to get a script together with DeKnight directing. Not long after it was announced that 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' star John Boyega would jump on board as one of the film's leads, playing Pentecost's son in the sequel. These are not the signs of a film in development, but in full-on pre-production. Now, we have another star potentially about to sign on and a studio-announced release date. Check out both below.
Legendary has finally revealed a release date for 'Pacific Rim 2,' slating it for February 23, 2018. This is surprising for a few reasons; one of them being that the December 25, 2017 mystery film announced by Legendary everyone thought was going to end up being 'PR 2' is actually a completely unknown movie yet to be revealed. It also shocked fans that the sequel to 'Pacific Rim' is officially moving forward at all. A release date shows that the studio is committed to the film and will most likely see it produced in the near future.
Cologne model and actor Scott Eastwood is also apparently in talks to star alongside John Boyega in 'Pacific Rim 2.' Whether he plays an original role or the child of one of the previous film's protagonists is yet to be released. This is after news of Eastwood potentially starring in 'Fast 8' as well, so he's definitely on the rise when it comes to tentpole blockbuster sequels. He previously served alongside Brad Pitt and Shia Labeuf in the critically and commercially successful 'Fury' back in 2014.
This is all great news to fans waiting patiently for the sequel and hoping that in a different director's hands, the franchise will reconcile some of the missteps of the first film. Time will tell if DeKnight and Connolly will take the amazing concept and swing for the fences like del Toro did, but either way I'm incredibly excited to sit down in a dark theater and see what happens next in this incredibly unique universe.