One piece of disappointing film news that broke this week was that the sequel to 2013's sci-fi action fantasy Pacific Rim had been "halted indefinitely" by studio Universal. But now, according to director Guillermo Del Toro, this might not be the case at all.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Del Toro speaks enthusiastically about the state of the project, which was originally scheduled for a 2017 release. "We are still turning in a screenplay and a budget in three weeks," he said. "As far as I'm concerned, it's not gone. We're still on it. It moved further--I may do another movie in the middle."
Del Toro did however admit that the ambitious nature of his large-scale fantasy and horror films did sometimes make it hard to get them financed, citing several passion projects that have not to date happened.
"If I was a billionaire, I would definitely do Hellboy 3, Pacific Rim 2, and At the Mountains of Madness. And I would quickly become a millionaire!"
Although Pacific Rim was not the domestic hit that many expected, it did go on to box office success internationally, ultimately making more than $411 million worldwide. In China alone it made $111 million, and these figures were enough for Universal to move forward with the sequel.