Who doesn’t love giant robots smashing things, including other giant robots? Guillermo Del Toro’s Pacific Rim was a modest hit in 2013, but the Del Toro-less 2018 sequel Pacific Rim Uprising failed to measure up. While a spinoff anime series ran for a couple of seasons on Netflix, it isn’t until now that the franchise will continue in live-action, but not on the big screen.
Variety reports that Legendary has struck a first-look TV deal with Arrival writer Eric Heisserer for a Pacific Rim prequel series. Details on the show are under wraps, but Pacific Rim is set in a future where humans battle giant kaiju in Jaegers, gigantic humanoid mechs.
Heisserer recently was creator and showrunner of the Netflix series Shadow & Bone. He also wrote Bloodshot, Bird Box, The Thing remake, and Final Destination 5. But it was the sci-fi drama Arrival that earned him the most acclaim, winning multiple awards for his screenplay.
The plan is for Heisserer to develop multiple Pacific Rim projects if this one is a hit. It’ll be interesting to see if anyone from the movies gets involved. Del Toro does not appear to be associated with the project in any way at this point.
“Eric is a multitalented, prolific creator whose track record of critical and commercial successes speaks for itself,” said Jason Clodfelter, president of Legendary Television. “We are thrilled to launch our partnership with Eric, Chronology, and Carmen, with a new entry in the epic, globally popular ‘Pacific Rim’ universe. We are certain their vision will make for an enthralling expansion to Legendary’s beloved franchise.”
