In speaking with the press – in this case, Buzzfeed – Del Toro said he is currently at work on a script for Pacific Rim 2 with Zak Penn (X-Men: The Last Stand). Huh? What? No Travis Beacham, screenwriter of the first film?
“I’m working very, very hard with Zak Penn,” he told BuzzFeed. “We’ve been working for a few months now in secret. We found a way to twist it around. Travis Beacham [co-writer of the first film, now working on Fox’s Hieroglyph] was involved in the storyline and now I’m writing with Zak because Travis has become a TV mogul.”
The script hasn’t been given the green light, of course. Although, when we spoke to Legendary Pictures head Thomas Tull, back in March, he sounded like he was up for a sequel.
“I was literally just with Guillermo on the set of Crimson Peak,” said Tull. “We talk about it and have some pretty great ideas. If they come to fruition and we get a great script, then we’re open to it. Fans seem pretty passionate about it and working with Guillermo. So, we’re open to it.”
Del Toro said the script for the second film will see the return of Raleigh and Mako and he reiterated what he told us last year…
“I’m going for very new, very crazy ideas on the second one, which are very different from the first one — but you will get really great spectacle.”
