Guillermo Del Toro Confirms 'Pacific Rim 2' Is Still Alive And Being Written Now

Pacific Rim 2 exists on a hard drive in Hollywood. For some time now, screenwriter Travis Beacham has been writing a sequel to this summer's Pacific Rim with the knowledge it might never get made. Guillermo del Toro's film recently squeaked by to $100 million in the United States, but grossed three times that internationally, earning record numbers in China. Those numbers made the sequel a bit more likely but there has yet to be any official movement on it.

In a new interview, del Toro confirms he and Beacham are continuing to write the film with the hope Legendary will give them a green light.

Del Toro's quote came from an interview with IGN:

We are writing the sequel. Travis Beacham and I are writing, so that is active. The decision to green light or not, that's definitely above my pay rate.

He explained more in an interview with Rolling Stone:

Legendary gave me the absolute go-ahead with writing the screenplay, so Travis Beacham and I are working on it. As far as giving it a green light, that's the big step of the process. We need to put together a budget and then they'll make that decision, but everybody is unwavering in their love for the movie.

In past interviews, del Toro and crew have teased some possibilities in the sequel, including a kaiju and jaeger hybrid and Charlie Day's Newt Geiszler potentially being the villain. Neither of those points are confirmed, but they give an idea of where the follow-up could go.

Pacific Rim's budget is reported just under $200 million and it's grossed just over $400 million worldwide. That's certainly a success, but not the kind of massive phenomenon Legendary and Warner Bros. were surely hoping for. If the film had grossed $600 million, this conversation wouldn't be happening. The thinking at this point probably is, let del Toro and Beacham finish their script and, if the studio thinks the story is good enough, and can be made for the right budget, maybe it'll happen. If neither of things line up, Pacific Rim 2 will probably always be hypothetical and only exist on that hard drive.

Do you think Pacific Rim 2 will get made?