Despite Pacific Rim Uprising setting up a potential sequel, filmmaker Steven S. DeKnight has not heard anything about a third installment in the giant robots versus kaiju franchise.
DeKnight, who directed and co-wrote this year’s Uprising, is hoping for a follow-up, though admits any decision by Universal to move forward with the series is out of his hands.
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“I have heard nothing,” DeKnight said in an interview with CinemaBlend. “That is up to the executives and the bean counters. I certainly hope so. I hope, with or without me — because my schedule is starting to get a little complicated — that there’s a third installment because I would love to see it. I think the franchise deserves to be finished. Whether or not it made enough money, I honestly have no idea. Long ago, I kind of disconnected myself to any kind of box office worry. Things like that are kind of out of my hand. But I certainly hope so. I have heard nothing, but I hope there’s installment.”
Pacific Rim Uprising opened in theaters this past March and went on to underperform at the global box office, earning $290 million against its reported $175 million production budget. Comparatively, the original film earned $411 million worldwide on a budget of $200 million.
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The Pacific Rim sequel ended with the tease for a follow-up, as new protagonist Jake Pentecost (John Boyega) promises to take the fight to the Precursor homeworld for unleashing kaiju on Earth. Whether Universal will make good on that promise has yet to be revealed.
Directed by Steven S. DeKnight, Pacific Rim Uprising features John Boyega as Jake Pentecost, Scott Eastwood as Nate Lambert, Cailee Spaeny as Amara Namani, Jing Tian as Liwen Shao, Rinko Kikuchi as Mako Mori, Charlie Day as Dr. Newton Geiszler and Burn Gorman as Dr. Hermann Gottlieb. It is available on home video in digital HD now and out on Blu-ray on June 19.