Guillermo Del Toro planning another sequel after 'Pacific Rim 2'

Director Guillermo Del Toro is creating Pacific Rim 2 with a third installment already in mind.

Guillermo del Toro’s “Pacific Rim” opened at number three at the box office in July 2013, selling just over $37M in tickets. Over the next few months, it went on to gross nearly $102 million domestically. Returns were far lower than hoped, especially given the sci-fi flick’s reportedly $190 million budget.

If it wasn't for the impressive $300 million box office performance of the sci-fi blockbuster overseas, we probably wouldn't be getting that sequel. But Guillermo del Toro is shooting for the moon when it comes to his plans for the kaiju vs. jaeger sequel, and he hopes that the end of Pacific Rim 2 will end up leading to Pacific Rim 3, which hasn't been greenlit yet.

In an interview with Collider, del Toro laid out the current schedule for Pacific Rim 2‘s production. The script’s first draft is in, and pre-production will begin in August or September of 2015. Del Toro promises he is going in a “very different direction” from the first film, which includes the decision to focus on only select characters in the sequel.

Speaking to the film’s focus, the director told Collider that some characters from Pacific Rim return while others won’t because “we’re going to shoot ambitiously and say let’s hope we have three movies.”

The director previously said that an animated series will bridge the gap between the first and second film because the sequel will be in a very different place than what we saw at the end of the first film.

Pacific Rim 2 will hit theaters on April 7th, 2017.