There's a lot that hasn't been revealed yet about Pacific Rim 2, but one of the bigger questions on our minds is which characters from the first movie are coming back. Late last week, Guillermo del Toro said that "a lot of the cast" from Pacific Rim will return, but a lot doesn't equal 100%. That's because Charlie Hunnam has revealed that he won't be reprising Raleigh Becket in Pacific Rim 2.
Although there was a time when Hunnam was going to be involved with Pacific Rim 2, he revealed to Yahoo Movies at Comic-Con that he was forced to drop out because of scheduling issues. He explained:
I think it's going to be great. I read an early draft of what they're doing. There was one incarnation of this sequel that involved me heavily, but I was unavailable. They have a definite schedule that they have to film because of the politics and business surrounding filmmaking. Sometimes, non-creative decisions will dictate how something unfolds, which seems bass-ackwards, in the fact that we're making art -- or, at least, aspiring to make art. But yeah, it just ended up being unfortunately something we couldn't remedy...
Even though he won't be appearing in Pacific Rim 2, Hunnam wished the sequel well, adding that they're on to something "very exciting" that's a "serious progression" from what moviegoers saw in 2013. Pacific Rim 2 is scheduled to begin production at the end of the year, and while Hunnam's latest public release is next year's King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, which as already finished principal photography, evidently he has another project planned for the near future that prevented him from appearing in Pacific Rim 2.
Charlie Hunnam's Raleigh Becket was one of the main players in Pacific Rim, co-piloting the Gipsy Danger Jaeger with Rinko Kikuchi's Mako Mori against the Kaiju. Becket made it out of the movie alive, so we'll have to wait and see how they explain his absence. Was he killed off screen? Did he simply retire from Pan Pacific Defense Corps? Ideally he'll get fitting closure.
Pacific Rim 2 plot details are scarce, but the sequel is expected to follow the "postwar" era of this universe after the first movie's massive conflict. The only actor who's been officially cast in Pacific Rim 2 so far is Star Wars: The Force Awakens' John Boyega, who will play the son of Idris Elba's character, Stacker Pentecost. Suicide Squad actor Scott Eastwood is also reportedly in negotiations to play a "key role." Aside from Hunnam, none of the original actors have said they're returning or not participating, but if Guillermo del Toro (who is staying on as a producer) is to be believed, there will be plenty of familiar faces back.
Directed by Steven DeKnight and written by Emily Carmichael and Kira Snyder, Pacific Rim 2 hits theaters on February 23, 2018.
