The Pacific Rim sequel may be delayed, but that hasn’t stopped director Guillermo del Toro from working on developing the follow-up, and now he’s found a fan-favorite Game of Thrones actress he wants to add to the cast alongside Charlie Hunnam and Rinko Kikuchi. Initially scheduled to begin production this fall, Universal Pictures recently pulled Pacific Rim 2 from its release schedule, stating that it is still very committed to making the movie, but wants to ensure that the creative team “can continue its efforts to exceed the amazing experience of the first film.” In light of this, del Toro said that he’s continuing work on the screenplay, but may now tackle a smaller movie before heading into production on Pacific Rim 2 if and when it happens.
However, as development is ongoing, del Toro tweeted last night that he had lunch with Maisie Williams, who plays Arya Stark on Game of Thrones, and he’s now determined to put her in the Pacific Rim sequel.
Williams quickly became a standout on the HBO fantasy series and the prospect of seeing her piloting her own Jaeger is glee-inducing. It’s unclear exactly when del Toro hopes to ramp Pacific Rim 2 back up, but one hopes Universal is ready to give it the greenlight sometime next year—assuming the script and budget are to their liking, that is. When the initial report surfaced that the studio had become more ambivalent about the follow-up due to tensions with Legendary Pictures CEO Thomas Tull, it was unclear if it’d even be made at all. Studio language in a subsequent press release aimed to assuage those fears, but the fact remains that Pacific Rim 2 does not have a greenlight and thus is not guaranteed to actually happen.
A Pacific Rim follow-up wasn’t an easy “yes” from a studio standpoint, as the first movie just barely broke $100 million domestically but then grossed over $410 million worldwide. Legendary's relationship with del Toro no doubt influenced Universal's decision to put the movie into development, but as the latter studio has had a record-breaking 2015 with films like Jurassic World and Pitch Perfect 2, it doesn't necessarily need to carry on with the Pacific Rim franchise. Regardless, del Toro’s greatest accomplishment with that film was some incredible world building, so the notion of further exploring the world of Pacific Rim in a sequel is mighty enticing from a fan point of view. Especially if Maisie Williams is onboard.
