Of All The Unmade Guillermo Del Toro Movies, This Is The One That Still Hurts The Most

Whether it’s his Oscar-worthy films, like The Shape of Water, or his more blockbuster fare, like Hellboy or Pacific Rim, Guillermo Del Toro is a director to always look out for. . It’s always exciting to see his new films; however, Del Toro has had a number of films announced that went unmade, and so many of them break my heart as a Del Toro fan.

His Justice League Dark film was one of my most anticipated DC team up films, especially when looking back on his work for Hellboy. Del Toro’s Hobbit is something some fans still want to happen, as he was set to direct The Lord of the Rings’ prequel before Peter Jackson took over the project. However, Del Toro’s version of Pacific Rim 2 leaves some wanting that instead of Steven S. DeKnight’s Pacific Rim: Uprising, which disappointed many in theaters.

Guillermo Del Toro Not Directing Pacific Rim 2 Still Hurts 6 Years After Uprising

Pacific Rim Is So Much More Than Giant Robots Fighting Giant Monsters

Pacific Rim delivers everything one could want from a film about robots fighting monsters. On the action-front, Pacific Rim fires on all cylinders, and it finds unique ways to use the jaegers. The designs are larger than life and distinct from each other. Pacific Rim is a spectacle, with intricate sets and awe-inspiring camera work. This film also takes its time to develop a solid-sized ensemble, giving us a wide variety of characters and relationships we are invested in. Mako Mori, for instance, has become an important female figure in action films, as seen with Pacific Rim’s Mako Mori test.

Pacific Rim’s Confirmed New Project Is Not What I Was Expecting From The $700 Million Kaiju Franchise

The world of Pacific Rim is expanding with a live-action TV series, a first in the franchise but that isn’t what I expected (and wanted).

Del Toro killed it with Pacific Rim, so when it was revealed he would no longer direct the sequel film, it was disappointing. Even knowing why Guillermo Del Toro didn’t direct Pacific Rim 2 — to go film The Shape of Water — doesn’t lessen the disappointment. Then Pacific Rim: Uprising came out, and that disappointment grew even more.

Pacific Rim: Uprising Could Not Have Been More Different From Del Toro’s Movie

Pacific Rim: Uprising Disappointed Critics, Audiences, and The Box Office

Charlie Hunnam as Raleigh Becket grimacing in Pacific Rim.

Pacific Rim: Uprising failed to capture the magic of the first movie for many critics and fans. The differences between Del Toro’s Pacific Rim and Uprising highlight the faults of the second film, which also failed at the box office.

Movie	Box Office	Rotten Tomatoe Critic Score
Pacific Rim	$411,002,906	72%
Pacific Rim Uprising	$290,930,148	42%

Where the first Pacific Rim has distinct fights, kaiju, and jeagers, the second one feels repetitive, as if the monsters and robots are generic action figures being thrown around. The new characters and relationships are not fleshed out enough, stripping away the sequel of the humanity the first film had. Plus, beloved characters from the first Pacific Rim, like Raleigh Becket, are missing in Uprising, or they are killed off or reduced to cartoon versions of themselves.

Pacific rim collage of The Black, John Boyega, and Charlie Hunnam

Pacific Rim Movies In Order: How Netflix’s The Black Fits Into The Pacific Rim Timeline

Netflix’s animated series Pacific Rim: The Black is connected to the movie franchise, and here’s how it fits in the Pacific Rim timeline.

Pacific Rim: Uprising could have been great. It has a new cast of characters and is led by Boyega, who brings a ridiculous amount of charisma to the film. However, it lacks the style and substance of the first Pacific Rim. At least fans can hope for the best as the Pacific Rim Universe expands with a new prequel show.

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Pacific Rim

The Pacific Rim franchise is a sci-fi action series centered around humanity’s battle against giant, monstrous creatures known as Kaiju. To combat these threats, humans pilot massive robots called Jaegers. The franchise began with the 2013 film directed by Guillermo del Toro and has since expanded into sequels, an animated series, comic books, and more, blending elements of mecha anime and kaiju films.