‘Pacific Rim 2’ Officially Shelved: Sequel Can’t Compete With Big Names in 2017?
The sequel for the 2013 sci-fi movie Pacific Rim is reportedly cancelled.
In a report from The Hollywood Reporter, film director Guillermo Del Toro claims the movie’s prequel Pacific Rim 2, has been removed from the producer’s release schedule. However, Del Toro said that Pacific Rim 2 is still undergoing development.
“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,” Del Toro said.
On the other hand, sources told The Hollywood Reporter that Pacific Rim 2 will be “off the table indefinitely.”
Universal also issued an official statement saying Pacific Rim 2 will no longer be released on Aug. 4, 2017.
“The filmmakers, Legendary, and Universal Pictures are committed to having Pacific Rim 2, the sequel to 2013’s Pacific Rim, which generated more $411 million at the global box office, be the vanguard, fully-immersive experience that the franchise deserves. To this end, the decision was made to delay the production and release of Pacific Rim so that the creative team can continue in its efforts to exceed the amazing experience of the first film.”
The Aug. 4 slot is now allotted to Pitch Perfect 3.
Budget could be one of the main factors on why Pacific Rim 2 is being cancelled. Del Toro even admitted that the film is very ambitious and it would take large-scale technologies to be achieved. Del Toro said that if it were up to him, he would continue other film sequels like Hellboy 3, Pacific Rim 2, and At the Mountains of Madness.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9gh10hwJcc
What Went Wrong?
Pacific Rim was actually lauded by film critics. It received a 72 percent rating from Rotten Tomatoes, 7 out of 10 from IMDB, and 4 out of 4 from Roger Ebert.
Adam R. Holz from Plugged wrote: “This Transformers-meets-Godzilla battler is long on apocalyptic mayhem … but not short on brave humans caught up in the carnage.”
It immediately became a box office hit in the international market. It earned about $2 million in Ukraine and Bulgaria and reached $111 million in China alone. The international market sales amassed to a massive $309 million. However, it did not sell well with the domestic box office, which only reached around $102 million in sales.
The production certainly profited from the film considering that the production budget was around $190 million. However, if the sequel is expected to incorporate big-time movie technologies, the production budget could exceed the initial one. Considering the big players on the big screen this coming 2017, Universal might be taking into consideration the relative popularity of the movie if they decide to launch it that year.
The year 2017 is looking to be a huge year for box-office movies. The movies expected to launch in 2017 are Furious 8, Thor: Ragnarok, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Justice League: Part 1, Star Wars: Episode VIII, and James Cameron’s Avatar 2.
Del Toro Refocuses
Though Del Toro stands firm on the Pacific Rim 2 prequel, the director has other projects in place. At present, the director is set to helm the Fantastic Voyage, a remake of the 1966 sci-fi film about a scientist who was “nearly assassinated.” To save him, a submarine was shrunk to micro-size so a team of scientists can enter his bloodstream and save him.
This will be a big collaboration between Del Toro and Cameron. The two geniuses will also be working with David Goyer who has already written the treatment and script of Fantastic Voyage together with Justin Rhodes.
There are no set dates for Fantastic Voyage yet as of writing.
[Image Credit: YouTube/Pacific Rim]
