No word yet on an official title for Pacific Rim 2 (Maelstrom is the rumored subtitle), but the anticipated sci-fi/action sequel is garnering some attention heading into the fall, which is when returning director Guillermo del Toro is expected to get filming under way. Recently, speaking to EW in relation to his upcoming King Arthur epic Knights of the Roundtable: King Arthur, actor Charlie Hunnam discussed his thoughts about the first film and hopes for the second.
Agreeing with those who praised Pacific Rim‘s visuals but criticized its slight characterization, Hunnam noted that he feels effects-heavy productions can be limiting for performers and said he hopes that Pacific Rim 2 will dive more deeply into the human characters:
“I think world creation and monster creation and all of that stuff is exciting as a secondary element of storytelling. When it becomes more important than storytelling, I get very nervous, and you sort of lose me a little bit. Although we tried very hard on Pacific Rim to marry those two elements, I do feel like ultimately it got weighed heavier on the side of spectacle than storytelling.”
Of course, Hunnam still stands by the movie that del Toro created and said he’s proud of the way Pacific Rim turned out. But when it comes time to shoot the sequel, the actor has his fingers crossed for a deeper storyline:
“I hope that we are able to remedy that a little bit going into the second. Not to say I wasn’t proud of the film. I really liked it, and I felt like it delivered exactly what it was supposed to. But I do feel like we could have maybe plumbed the depths of the character and the storytelling a little bit more.”
It’s great to hear an actor being honest about his body of work, especially given that Hunnam’s role in Pacific Rim helped cement him as a real movie star. Though I personally loved Pacific Rim as an action-packed ode to the kaiju movies of yore, it’s easy to see why some took issue with the human side of the story. Given that del Toro has stated his intention to implement a time-jump and explore human society’s evolution after the kaiju war, there’s definitely the potential for a more nuanced, balanced plot – provided that the director doesn’t simply take the opportunity to stage more wonderful Jaeger-kaiju battles, which is a distinct possibility I would still be very on board with.
We’ll bring you more on Pacific Rim 2 as we have it. The sequel has been dated for August 14, 2017.