It won't be long now before the colossal kaiju and massive mechs of PACIFIC RIM UPRISING collide, once again, in theaters all across the world. While Guillermo del Toro has relinquished his role as director for the sequel, and has chosen to instead participate as an executive producer on Uprising, new helmer Steven S. DeKnight promises to take the franchise in bold, new directions so long as the property remains in his hands.
Recently, DeKnight joined the entertainment news outlet Collider for an exclusive interview, wherein DeKnight talked of having even bigger plans for the franchise, down the line. As you know, Legendary is currently expanding upon its Monster Universe with GODZILLA and KONG: SKULL ISLAND already having been presented to audiences, Meanwhile, GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS is now in post-production, with GODZILLA VS. KONG currently in its development stage. That's a lot of monster mayhem, if you ask me. Now, what if I told you that the jaegars and kaiju from PACIFIC RIM might very well cross over into the Legendary Monster Universe to take on the two terrifying titans of terror?
While speaking with Collider's Steve Weintraub during an interview at New York City Comic-Con, Deknight revealed that ideas for a crossover have definitely been discussed: “I won’t say there’s an Easter Egg but there’s been a lot of discussion about that possibility [of crossing over]. Look I think it would be fantastic to have the Pacific Rim universe join Legendary’s Monster Universe, it seems like a natural step. And part of the big overall plan after the third movie we’ve talked about is that could happen, it’s always a possibility. It’s by far not a certainty; it’s merely theoretical at this point, but as a fan myself I would love to see that happen,” DeKnight said.
Currently, Adam Wingard is attached to direct GODZILLA VS. KONG for a 2020 release, and from what we've been hearing in the lead up to PACIFIC RIM UPRISING, it sounds as if there are indeed plans for a third installment to the franchise. In fact, later in the same interview, DeKnight told Weintraub that the ending of Uprising plants the seeds for another sequel.
“Oh we definitely leave it open to another installment. The tricky thing with something like this is you want to not end on a cliffhanger. You don’t want an Empire Strikes Back cliffhanger unless you know you’re gonna do a third movie—you want to leave it open but also wrap it up. So that’s very much what we did on this movie. It has a definitive ending but very much open to the next chapter,” says DeKnight.
Let us know what you think of this news in the comments section below. Are you game for a big screen crossover between Godzilla, Kong, kaiju monsters, and the mechs of PACIFIC RIM, or is this idea perhaps taking things a bit too far?
PACIFIC RIM UPRISING will launch in theaters on March 23, 2018.