Daredevil showrunner Steven S. DeKnight has signed on to direct the upcoming Pacific Rim sequel.
The sci-fi disaster follow-up has been stuck in production limbo ever since Guillermo Del Toro’s original opened to critical acclaim in 2013. It will mark DeKnight’s feature film debut as a director, after previous stints as a TV producer and director on US series Smallville and Spartacus.
Guillermo Del Toro is down to write the screenplay for the film which is due out April 7 2017.
While Hellboy’s Ron Pearlman is rumoured to be returning as Hannibal Chau. Charlie Hunnam – who starred in Del Toro’s Crimson Peak – is expected to reprise his role from Pacific Rim as Raleigh Beckett.
Speaking about the new film’s direction, Del Toro said, “I’m going for very new, very crazy ideas on the second one.”
“It’s very different, but you will get a really great spectacle,” he added.
Del Toro was originally slated to direct the Peter Jackson The Hobbit trilogy, but pulled out following years of preparation amidst internal problems at MGM production company.
Martin Freeman, who played Bilbo Baggins in the three films, has recently been confirmed for upcoming Marvel blockbuster Captain America: Civil War. He will portray Everett Ross, an agent of the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre, which follows on from S.H.I.E.L.D’s dismantling in last movie, Captain America: The Winter Soldier.