The sequel to Guillermo del Toro's "Pacific Rim" lost its original director and male lead actor, Charlie Hunnam, due to scheduling conflicts.
"Pacific Rim: Uprising" is set to premiere in 2018. Even though fans of the film are expecting a continuation of the first film's storyline, the sequel might go in a different direction after losing del Toro and Hunnam.
While at the press day for "The Lost City of Z," the actor explained to Den of Geek how he came to the decision to bow out of "Pacific Rim: Uprising."
"There was a huge scheduling conflict ... I was already really, really invested in doing 'Papillion,'" said Hunnam. The actor added that after Legendary Entertainment and "Pacific Rim: Uprising" was sold to Wanda Group, the film's schedules changed and Hunnam could no longer commit.
Technically, Hunnam had to appear in "Pacific Rim: Uprising" due to a contract. However, after having a talk with former Legendary chairman Thomas Tull, they let Hunnam go after realizing that the actor had his heart set on another film.
Even del Toro's commitment to the sequel had been affected because of conflicts in schedule.
In an interview with Collider, del Toro shared that he was caught in between choosing "Pacific Rim: Uprising" and "The Shape of Water," but when it came down to scheduling, del Toro went ahead with the latter.
"The timing started to suck. ... They said, 'We've gotta wait nine months,' and I said 'I'm not waiting nine months, I'm shooting a movie.'"
Del Toro remains a producer in "Pacific Rim: Uprising," but the "Pacific Rim" sequel is now directed by Steven DeKnight, featuring lead actor John Boyega as the son of Idris Elba's Stacker, opposite Caile Spaeny, who has been cast as the female lead in the film.
"Pacific Rim: Uprising" is slated to premiere on Feb. 23, 2018.
