There aren't too many people in the industry who get quite as enthusiastic about movies as Guillermo del Toro does, and listening to the man geek out about films is definitely a treat. Del Toro frequently has a large number of projects under his belt at any given time, but we're wise enough to know that the chances that he'll actually get to all of them is quite slim. Sometimes he'll give up the project to someone else however, as is the case with the upcoming PACIFIC RIM sequel which he's handed over to Steven S. DeKnight (Spartacus). Guillermo del Toro is still very much involved with the sequel and he recently spoke to THR about PACIFIC RIM 2 as well as HELLBOY 3 and THE SHAPE OF WATER.
The cast for PACIFIC RIM 2 is slowly coming together with John Boyega set to take the lead as the son of Idris Elba's character from the first film. Scott Eastwood is also rumoured to be involved but many fans were wondering if the sequel would be sweeping the previous cast under the rug as there's been no news about Charlie Hunnam or Rinko Kikuchi returning.
That’s not entirely true. As a producer, I learned not to declare anything about a movie I’m not directing. I can tell you this — a lot of the cast from the first movie is coming back. I leave those communications to Steven DeKnight. He’s not only a director, but he’s actually a guy I respect and admire and it’s his movie.
On John Boyega taking the lead:
I admire him tremendously. The idea for me is that this is a continuation of the great leadership character that was Idris Elba. It’s a very different character but I love the idea of having a main character who is not a white Anglo-Saxon guy. Before the heated conversation about diversity in film started we were doing Pacific Rim. And I think that universe is a huge proponent of that.
On why HELLBOY 3 will likely never happen:
Hellboy 3 is a wish that will never be fulfilled cause the first two movies made really good profits on a market that doesn’t exist anymore. The reason there’s a Hellboy 2 is not because the studios were passionate about the first one, it’s because the numbers made sense. Hellboy 1 was such a huge, huge over-performer on Blu-ray and ancillary markets. It was one the first movies on Blu-ray, it has multiple editions, all the ancillary markets over performed everywhere. And the second one did good in all ancillary markets, which now do not exist. It’s very hard to convince a studio when you’ve lost that stream of revenue. Theatrically, they basically broke even or came to a place where it made sense to make a sequel. It’s very hard for them to think with that arm gone it would still make sense.
On the appeal of going smaller with THE SHAPE OF WATER:
What was important was to draw back to a smaller budget with more freedom. Since 1997 I haven’t had censorship problems at all. But with great budget comes great responsibility. This is the same scale, exactly, as Pan’s Labyrinth and I wanted to feel the same freedom where I could try to tell the story with whatever emotional logic I want to follow.
On the creature at the center of THE SHAPE OF WATER, to be played by Doug Jones:
It’s a very personal movie. My view of the creature is very personal. We have spent nine months creating and designing this creature, which is the longest time I’ve spent, ever, designing any creature, and I’m very much in awe of it.
PACIFIC RIM 2 is set for a February 23, 2018 release.