Report: Pacific Rim sequel on hold ‘indefinitely’

Production on Pacific Rim 2 has been halted, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The news comes from an article in the publication's upcoming issue focusing on the film's production studio, Legendary Pictures. The studio originally planned an August 2017 release for the film, which would serve as the sequel to Guillermo del Toro's 2013 take on the Japanese fighting robot genre.

The report states that the production hold could mean a later premiere date for the film, "if it gets made at all." Considering the expensive budget for the original Pacific Rim relative to its domestic gross (BoxOfficeMojo reports these figures to be $190 million and $101 million, respectively), a second film was no guarantee.

However, The Hollywood Reporter's sources reveal that "Legendary liked that the original performed exceptionally well in China, where the company is heavily invested." This led to a stronger worldwide box office total (the article says $411 million) which helped get the sequel greenlit.

This is not the first of del Toro's projects to fall by the wayside this year: Konami cancelled Silent Hills, his collaboration with series creator Hideo Kojima, in April. Despite that setback, the director said later that he and Kojima "are still in touch" and plan to work together again.

The director's next film is the horror title Crimson Peak, which makes it to theaters on Oct. 16.