Guillermo del Toro reveals original, scrapped plot of Pacific Rim 2

Rinko Kikuchi in Pacific Rim
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

Guillermo del Toro has revealed his original plans for Pacific Rim 2 that were ultimately scrapped.

The first movie, directed by del Toro, was released in 2013 and is set in a version of the future where humanity is at war with the kaiju, huge sea monsters who have emerged from a portal in the Pacific Ocean. 

Del Toro wrote a script for a sequel, but, by the time 2018's Pacific Rim: Uprising was in the works, Steven S. DeKnight had taken over the director's chair and the script had been replaced. So, what could have been? 

"The villain was this tech guy that had invented basically sort of the internet 2.0," del Toro said in a recent interview with The Wrap. "And then they realized that all his patents came to him one morning. And so little by little, they started putting together this and they said, ‘Oh, he got them from the precursors.’ The guys that control the kaiju. And then we found out that the precursors are us thousands of years in the future. They’re trying to terraform, trying to re-harvest the earth to survive. Wow. And that we were in exo-bio-suits that looked alien, but they were not. We were inside. And it was a really interesting paradox."

The director also added that he wanted the sequel to focus more on Mako Mori, played by Rinko Kikuchi. "To me, the hero was Mako Mori," he said. "I wanted her not only to live, I wanted her to be one of the main characters in the second movie."

Del Toro's next movie, Nightmare Alley, arrives in theaters on December 17 in the US and January 21 in the UK. In the meantime, fill out your watch list with our picks of the best Netflix movies to stream right now.

Entertainment Writer

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism. 

Read more
Ron Perlman as Hellboy
Original Hellboy actor Ron Perlman "had an opportunity" to reprise the role, but refused to do it without Guillermo del Toro involved
Ultraman: Rising still from the movie
Director of popular Netflix anime Ultraman: Rising offers disappointing update on sequel
Sharni Vinson as Erin in You're Next (2011)
Team behind slasher horror You're Next reveal their scrapped idea for a twisted sequel: "My point is, it's really good we didn't make this movie"
A screenshot of Godzilla destroying a city in Japan during the movie Godzilla Minus One.
Godzilla Minus One director says writing on the highly anticipated sequel is underway and this time it will have a bigger budget
screenshots of Doomsday: Last Survivors' crossover with Pacific Rim
Doomsday: Last Survivors' crossover with Pacific Rim is proof that every single game should add mechs
Jonathan Bailey and Scarlett Johansson in Jurassic World Rebirth
Jurassic World Rebirth's writer says the new movie will include a novel scene they had to cut from the 1993 original
Latest in Sci-Fi Movies
All You Need is Kill anime
Graphic novel that inspired one of Tom Cruise's highest-rated actioners is being turned into an anime movie
Watto in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
Star Wars confirms Watto isn’t dead after all in new comic, and fans are celebrating his miraculous survival
Millie Bobby Brown in The Electric State
All of the Best Picture winners of the last 10 years combined still have a lower budget than the Russo brothers’ new Netflix movie
Scarlett Johansson in Jurassic World Rebirth
Jurassic World Rebirth studio asked Scarlett Johansson to join Instagram, but she refused: "The film will do fine"
The Rise of Skywalker
Despite those retirement reports, Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy is "very involved" in the Rey Star Wars movie, according to Daisy Ridley
The Iron Mask
The 32 greatest swashbuckler movies ever made
Latest in News
Nintendo Store NYC
After 20 years, a second Nintendo Store is set to open in the US this May
Vincent D'Onofrio as Wilson Fisk in Daredevil: Born Again
Daredevil: Born Again fans would love this Marvel character to appear, even if it's extremely unlikely
an rpg character fishing with a fishing rod sword
Dev of unhinged open-world game where you parry everything says "f*** it" again, adds something farming life sims like Stardew Valley need: a way to fight the fish you catch
Seldeg against the backdrop of the Pathfinder 2E Claws of the Tyrant adventure book cover
Pathfinder 2E RPG: Claws of the Tyrant Adventure is available to preorder at a discount
A wide collection of monsterous playable characters from Battlezoo Ancestries Living Legends
Play as a Mindflayer or a swarm of bees in this upcoming D&D supplement from a Pathfinder 2E co-creator
Assassin's Creed Shadows cinematic screenshot
I've found my Assassin's Creed Shadows playstyle, thanks to this clip of Yasuke smashing dudes with a huge club instead of sneaking around