Pacific Rim 2 is officially happening, and the studio has just found a director.
According to Deadline, Legendary Pictures has hired Steven S. DeKnight to direct Pacific Rim 2. DeKnight was the showrunner for season 1 of Netflix's Daredevil and he also created the Starz series Spartacus. This will be DeKnight's directorial debut.
Though fans of the original might be disappointed that Guillermo Del Toro will not helm this sequel, the director offered his blessing via Twitter, saying he met with DeKnight personally and is very happy with the choice. The screenplay for Pacific Rim 2 will be written by Jon Spaihts (Prometheus).
As of a few months ago, it was unclear that Pacific Rim 2 would ever actually happen. Back in September, the news broke that Legendary had halted production of the film indefinitely, as we previously reported. Del Toro insisted at the time that the project wasn't dead quite yet and reiterated that in January. Based on this news, it seems to be back on track.
The original Pacific Rim, released in 2013, was not quite the smash hit Legendary Pictures was hoping for, though it was still far from a financial disaster. It grossed $101 million domestically on a $190 million budget, but took in an additional $309 million overseas, according to Box Office Mojo.
Pacific Rim 2 was originally scheduled for April 2017, though a late 2017 or early 2018 opening now seems more likely.