Everything We Know So Far About Pacific Rim: Maelstrom

The follow-up to one of the bestworst movies ever has just started shooting in Sydney. It stars Finn from Star Wars and (probably) Hellboy, was written by Guillermo del Toro, and is being directed by Spartacus creator and all-round nerd Steven DeKnight. We’re still a year and a half out from its February 23, 2018 release, but here’s everything we know so far.

“Today. Today… At the edge of our hope, at the end of our time, we have chosen not only to believe in ourselves, but in each other. Today there is not a man nor woman in here that shall stand alone. Not today. Today we face the monsters that are at our door and bring the fight to them! Today, we are cancelling the apocalypse!” -Stacker Pentecost My dad said it right the first time but I’ll take it from here. #Iamapentecost #pacificrim2

A photo posted by BOYEGA (@jboyega_) on Oct 24, 2016 at 6:53am PDT

It stars John Boyega as Marshal Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba)’s son. Boyega, who you definitely already know from his work as not-brainwashed-enough stormtrooper FN-2187 — or Finn — in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, or maybe even from his role as Moses in Attack The Block, was confirmed as the film’s lead role back in June. Boyega will play

It’s filming in Sydney. John Boyega is in Sydney right now — thanks, Instagram! — and kicked off the first day of filming on Pacific Rim: Maelstrom yesterday. The city — actually, the building in Circular Quay that we’re working in right now — was featured in the first film, unfortunately being smashed to pieces by a kaiju that broke through the defensive coastal wall.

We don’t know about original cast members. There’s no public word on whether Rinko Kikuchi or Charlie Hunnam are back for Pacific Rim: Maelstrom, and from their social media feeds it doesn’t seem likely. Back in July, Hunnam said scheduling conflicts meant he wouldn’t be available. Scott Eastwood, son of Clint, is apparently on board as one of the movie’s main characters. Other confirmed cast are Cailee Spaeny, Jing Tian, Levi Meaden, and Ivanna Sakhno.

Daredevil director Steven DeKnight is on board. DeKnight is probably best known for his work creating Spartacus, the Starz original series, but he’s had a pretty damn solid career in the past working on Smallville, Buffy, and Angel, as well as showrunning Marvel’s Daredevil and even apparently contributing to the Transformers writing team. He’s also keen on a R-rated Punisher TV series, hopefully with Thomas Jane.

Guillermo del Toro worked on the script. Although he was originally slated as the film’s director, sci-fi/fantasy maven Guillermo del Toro is Maelstrom’s executive producer this time around. He worked on the script before he moved off the project earlier this year, but his work has apparently still contributed characters and creatures (nee kaiju) to the film in its current form.

You can be an extra if you want. It’s being filmed in Sydney, and extras casting is being handled through talent agencies — and while there’s no word on when and where just yet, we’re definitely keen.