With roles in just two indies under her belt, actress and pop singerCailee Spaneyhas signed on to play the female lead role in Universal’s upcomingPacific Rim: Maelstrom. No details were given for what character she is playing, but the young actress joins a cast that includesJohn BoyegaandScott Eastwood. The news also comes a few days after directorSteven S. DeKnightteased that someone who stars inThe Belko Experiment, which recently had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, has landed a role in this sequel as well.
The cast ofPacific Rim: Maelstromis also believed to include originalPacific RimstarsRon Perlman(Hannibal Chau),Charlie Day(Dr. Newton Geiszler),Rinko Kikuchi(Mako Mori) andBurn Gorman(Gottleib), but they have not been confirmed yet. Back in JulyCharlie Hunnamconfirmed that he will not be reprising his role as Raleigh Beckett, due to scheduling conflicts, but he added that he is still excited to see the sequel. No other cast members have been confirmed at this time.
There were plans for ananimated seriesthat would serve as a bridge between the originalPacific Rimand this sequel, but we haven’t had any updates on that series in quite some time. We first heard about the series whenGuillermo del Torowas still attached to direct, but now he is only serving as a producer. This new report fromVarietyreveals that production is scheduled to begin this November in Australia, with a portion of the sequel to be shot in China.
The originalPacific Rimearned $101.8 million domestically and $411 million worldwide, from a massive $190 million budget. There had been numerous reports that Legendarycanceled the sequel, but that all changed when Legendary merged with Chinese investment firm Dalian Wanda Group.Pacific Rimearned more in China ($111.9 million) than any other market in the world. No story details have been released for the sequel, but it has been confirmed thatJohn Boyegais playing the son ofIdris Elba’s Stacker Pentecost, who died in the first film.
Stephen S. De Knight(Daredevil) is directingPacific Rim: Maelstromfrom a screenplay that has been worked on byGuillermo del Toro,Travis Beacham,Jon Spaihts,Emily Carmichael,Zak Penn,Kira SnyderandDerek Connolly. Universal has set a June 13, 2025 release date forPacific Rim: Maelstrom, which falls between the release of 20th Century Fox’sLarrikinsand Warner Bros.' shark thrillerMeg.Cailee Spaenyplays Erica in the indieCounting to 1000, which debuted in May, and she also has a small role inThe Shoes, which is set for a Christmas Day release.
