It’s been 10 years since the release of Guillermo del Toro’s “Pacific Rim.” And thus, it’s been five years since the sequel, ‘Uprising,’ which sadly isn’t directed by del Toro. But it isn’t until now that we find out the real reason why the award-winning filmmaker skipped directing the sequel to what seemed like one of his true passion projects. Well, you see, it all came down to missing a deposit on sound stages. Really.
READ MORE: Steven DeKnight Says His ‘Pacific Rim 3’ Plan Included A ‘Godzilla’/’Kong’ Crossover
In a new interview with Collider, celebrating the aforementioned 10th anniversary of “Pacific Rim,” Guillermo del Toro finally told the real story of why he passed on directing the sequel to his 2013 film. While it seems as if the interest from del Toro to step behind the camera was still there for the sequel, the studio failed to pay the necessary deposit to keep the sound stages rented in Toronto. And when the option of filming in China was mentioned, del Toro couldn’t make it happen.
“We were getting ready to do it, it was different from the first, but it had a continuation of many of the things that I was trying to do,” explained del Toro. “Then what happened is—I mean, this is why life’s crazy, right?—they had to give a deposit for the stages at 5pm or we would lose the stages in Toronto for many months. So, I said, ‘Don’t forget we’re gonna lose the stages,’ and five o’clock came and went, and we lost the stages. They said, ‘Well, we can shoot it in China.’ And I go, ‘What do you mean we?’ [Laughs] ‘I’ve gotta go do Shape of Water.’”
And thus, del Toro was out as director of “Pacific Rim 2” and the studio would eventually hire Steven DeKnight to take over the project.
“Pacific Rim” is the story of a world where a portal has opened and skyscraper-sized monsters are attacking Earth, and Humans have created these massive robots to help fight them. The first film was a moderate success, if not a little disappointing. However, it clearly established a rich mythology, which could have been mined well in the sequel. Unfortunately, the sequel, “Uprising,” failed to connect with critics and fans, ultimately being seen as a massive disappointment. Thus, the “Pacific Rim” franchise has been stuck in limbo ever since.
And when “Uprising” is mentioned, del Toro confirmed that he has yet to see the sequel to his film. In fact, he doesn’t actually ever want to watch the film. It would be too difficult for him.
“I didn’t see the final movie because that’s like watching home movies from your ex-wife,” he said. “It is terrible if they’re good and worse if they’re bad, or the opposite. You don’t wanna know. So, I didn’t see it. I did read the final script, and it was very different. Some of the elements were the same but very different.”
There have always been questions about whether or not del Toro would be interested in returning to the world of “Pacific Rim” for a new film. It’s unclear if that would ever happen, as the filmmaker seems to be incredibly busy with other projects at the moment. That said, in a world where studios love existing I.P., it wouldn’t be all that surprising to see “Pacific Rim” brought off the shelf and dusted off in the future.
