Pacific Rim 2 headed for cinemas April 2017

Pacific Rim and Del Toro fans should mark their calendars as early as now, or first get a 2017 calender in advance. The director has just announced the the sequel to the blockbuster sci-fi hit will be hitting theaters in April three years from now. Oh, and it will be preceded by an animated series as well.

Guillermo del Toro was only too happy to share this revelation to fans of the movie. After all, it has been one of Legendary Pictures' biggest hits and, according to del Toro himself, a creatively satisfying experience. Relatively speaking, Pacific Rim fell behind films such as Man of Steel and Hunger Games, only managing to bag $411 million in global sales. Even Legendary's reboot of Godzilla made much more than that. However, a good portion of that gross came from outside of the US, cementing the impact of the international moviegoing market on those figures.

Del Toro made the announcement himself, which you can watch below, and also clued the public in on the hands that will be involved. Screenwriting duties will be given to Zak Penn, who held the same post in X-Men: The Last Stand. Now before some of you start cringing, be consoled that Travis Beacham, the original screenwriter, will also be around to give his creative input.

The renowned director remarked that beloved characters will be returning, dropping names such as Raleigh, Mako, Newt, and more. What isn't exactly guaranteed yet is who will be filling in those shoes. Original cast members Charlie Hunnam, Charlie Day, Burn Gorman, and Rinko Kikuchi are expected to reprise their roles, but so far nothing official has been revealed yet.

Three years might seem like a long time to wait for a hit sequel, but Del Toro and Legendary Pictures do have something planned to keep fans occupied. All the way up to the premiere in 2017, a Pacific Rim animated series will be made. This will build up on the existing comics plot and will prepare the groundwork for the upcoming film.

"... we are taking them into a fresh territory that will display amazing sights and battles. The first film set the stage and now we're ready to have a blast."

VIA: BuzzFeed