'Pacific Rim 2' Pushed Off Universal's Release Calendar; 'Pitch Perfect 3' Gets New Date

And the bad news continues for Guillermo del Toro and his fans. Universal Pictures has announced it's pulling Pacific Rim 2 off its release calendar completely, following reports earlier this month that the project had been postponed or even cancelled. Meanwhile, Pitch Perfect 3 is moving back two weeks to fill Pacific Rim 2's old slot.

Read about the Pacific Rim 2 release date cancellation and the new Pitch Perfect 3 release date after the jump. 

Universal Pictures announced the Pacific Rim 2 release date cancellation today. Pitch Perfect 3 will now open August 4, 2017, instead of July 21, 2017. The old release date pitted Pitch Perfect 3 against Christopher Nolan's next movie, Luc Besson's Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, and an untitled animated movie from Fox. The new date looks less competitive, as no other films are currently scheduled for August 4.

Despite the Pacific Rim 2 release date cancellation, the studio maintains that it is committed to making a sequel happen. In a statement, Universal and Legendary said the creative team will use the extra time "to continue in its efforts to exceed the amazing experience of the first film," so that it can deliver "the vanguard, fully-immersive experience that the franchise deserves."

The first Pacific Rim floundered domestically, making just $101 million. (Which wouldn't be so bad, except it cost $190 million to make.) But it made a killing overseas, resulting in a worldwide gross of $411 million, and so Universal announced a sequel to open in 2017. Then a few weeks ago, we heard the studio had decided to delay it indefinitely after getting cold feet. Today's update isn't a surprise, then, just a confirmation.

Director del Toro has tried to stay optimistic. A couple of days after the Pacific Rim 2 delay news broke, he told press, "As far as I'm concerned, it's not gone. We're still on it." He did acknowledge at the time that the film had "moved further," though, and we've since heard that he might do a small indie movie as his next project.

Pitch Perfect 3, on the other hand, seems like a much surer bet for Universal. The first film was a surprise hit, grossing $115 million worldwide, and the sequel has made nearly two and a half times that. Both Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson are expected back for the next installment of the musical comedy series.