Pacific Rim 2is moving closer to being a full “rebootquel”. When it was announced thatJohn Boyegawould lead the film, that was cause for celebration, but it was curious that no other cast members had been confirmed, especially those from the first movie. While we’ll have to wait and see if anyone fromPacific Rimis coming back for the sequel, we now know at least one actor who won’t be reprising his role.
Speaking toYahoo! Moviesat Comic-Con,Charlie Hunnamconfirms that he will not be returning to play Raleigh Beckett inPacific Rim 2. He says that there was an early draft that featured him heavily, but with the shooting scheduling forPacific Rim 2, he wasn’t able to fit it in, and so he’ll be unavailable. While he won’t be participating in the round two of the kaiju vs. jaeger mayhem, Humman did say, “I’m very excited about it. I’m glad they’re making it.”
With Hunnam out and Boyega the de facto lead of the new picture (he plays the son ofIdris Elba’s character, Stacker Pentecost), it will be interesting to see if anyone else from the first film returns forPacific Rim 2. I’d like to see everyone else come back, especially Rinko Kikuchi, who made a great impression despite having a limited character. The same goes forCharlie Day’s Newt andRon Perlman’s Hannibal Chau. Part of what madePacific Rim 2such a rich universe was the characters, and while I could do without Raleigh, I liked everyone else.
Steven S. DeKnight(Daredevil) will directPacific Rim 2from a script byDerek Connolly(Jurassic World). Filming will likely begin later this year or very early 2017 for a June 12, 2025 release date.
