Charlie Hunnam Won't Return For PACIFIC RIM 2
It was just a few days ago that Guillermo del Toro was promising "a lot" of the cast from the first Pacific Rim would be coming back to reprise their roles in Pacific Rim 2, but it turns out that statement doesn't apply to the first film's lead protagonist. In an interview with Yahoo Movies, Charlie Hunnam revealed that he won't be returning for the upcoming sequel:
"I'm very excited about it. I'm glad they're making it, and I think it's going to be great. I read an early draft of what they're doing, and there was one incarnation of this sequel that involved me heavily, but I was unavailable. They have a very definite schedule that they have to film because of the politics and business surrounding filmmaking. Sometimes non-creative decisions will dictate how something unfolds, which seems bass ackwards in fact that we're making art...(laughs) or at least aspiring to make art.
But yeah, it just ended up being, unfortunately, something that we couldn't remedy because by the time they got their schedule fully realized, I wasn't available. But I think they're onto something very exciting. I think it's a serious, significant progression which you always hope it will be, right? That you don't just rest on your laurels and do what you've already done again. It feels like they're really aspiring to push this thing forward and do something original with the sequel, so it's cool."
Hunnam made a blip on the radar at Comic-Con by appearing in Guy Ritchie's King Arthur: Legend of the Sword trailer, and I know WB has big plans to turn that into a multi-movie franchise. But based on how godawful that trailer is, I'm not convinced they'll ever get to make one sequel to it, let alone the five they have in mind, so there could come a time when he's wishing he was able to star in Pacific Rim 2.
I have to say, though, as great as Hunnam has been in some of his film and TV projects (check out Green Street Hooligans if you haven't seen it), John Boyega as the new lead seems like a massive upgrade.
Pacific Rim 2 hits theaters on February 23, 2018.