Guillermo del Toro is on a one-man mission to make sure that Pacific Rim 2 actually makes it to the big-screen. The Mexican director has already figured out where he wants to take the franchise, and he’s now explained where the sequel will pick up after the first.
During a discussion with Collider, Guillermo del Toro declared that the follow-up will start a few years after the first film’s conclusion. This decision was reached as he wanted the threat of the Kaiju to have been severely reduced. It also sounds as though the Jaeger technology that was used to defeat the amphibious beasts in the original will be being used in a different manner at the start of Pacific Rim 2. Said the director,
"It’s a few years after the first one. It’s not an immediate follow-up. It is the world having been freed of Kaiju, what happens to the world after – what happens to the Jaeger technology once the Kaiju are not a threat. It’s quite a jump."
It will be interesting to see how much of a jump Guillermo del Toro decides to make. When you consider the destruction that the Kaiju wreaked in the original, entering Earth after the Precursors opened up a dimensional hole at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, you would think that it would take several decades to get over their carnage. However, that would mean that huge cast changes would have to be made. And while Guillermo Del Toro admitted that some alterations will be made to the acting line-up, he has now confirmed that Charlie Day and Burn Gorman’s characters will be sticking around for the upcoming installment. Del Toro said,
"Yes. It’s quite a different movie from the first one in that, but I think that two of our main characters like in the first one are Burn and Charlie. They are really, really – I mean, honestly, they are probably the guys I have the most fun writing along with Hannibal Chau so just from a purely selfish drive, I like writing them. I love writing for Charlie and Burn. I mean, [Burn's] in Crimson Peak for that reason, because I love working with him."
Charlie Day and Burn Gorman’s patter in Pacific Rim certainly helped the at-times convoluted and weighty sci-fi adventure through its issues, so it’s a relief to hear that they will be returning as key components of the sequel. Where that leaves Charlie Hunnam’s Raleigh and Rinko Kikuchi’s Mako remains to be seen. But if the Kaiju aren’t trying to destroy the world and the Jaeger aren’t be used in the same fashion, you can imagine that they won’t be called upon immediately.
Guillermo del Toro’s comments suggest that Pacific Rim 2 will be taking a much more patient approach than its predecessor. Pacific Rim began at such a break-neck speed that it never really allowed its audience to settle in, and it felt as though the viewer needed to play catch-up for the entire movie. Hopefully, Guillermo del Toro will have learned from this mistake and we’ll be able to ensconce ourselves in this intriguing world before the action begins in the sequel. As you can probably tell, I’m slightly cautious about Pacific Rim 2, but the fact that del Toro is preposterously excited is contagious! And the fact that he is a truly remarkable director means that I still have faith.
