Skip to main content

Spartacus and Daredevil’s showrunner is the new director of Pacific Rim 2

It appears that the sequel to Pacific Rim 2 is indeed moving forward, and the long-delayed project has now reportedly brought a new director on-board to get it into theaters.

Steve S. DeKnight, who served as the showrunner on the first season of Daredevil on Netflix, and was the creator, head writer, and showrunner for the popular Spartacus series on Starz, will make his feature directorial debut with Pacific Rim 2. Legendary Pictures has reportedly tapped DeKnight to take over the project from Guillermo del Toro, who co-wrote and directed the original, 2013 giant-robots-versus-monsters spectacle.

Recommended Videos

Deadline initially reported DeKnight’s involvement with the film, and the news was later confirmed by del Toro himself in a series of updates on Twitter.

Met w DeKnight and we are all so happy with our choice to take Pac Rim 2to where we know it can go!!

— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) February 24, 2016

Now Pac Rim is a known property and we can expand big!

— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) February 24, 2016

Originally scheduled to hit theaters in April 2017, the sequel to Pacific Rim was then pushed back to August of that same year before being removed from Universal Pictures’ release calendar entirely late last year. Despite the setbacks, Universal had indicated as recently as September that the studio was “committed to having Pacific Rim 2” and was getting elements in order “in its efforts to exceed the amazing experience of the first film.”

Along with his work on Daredevil and Spartacus, DeKnight also worked as a writer and producer on a long list of other notable television series, including Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire SlayerAngel, and Dollhouse series, as well as Smallville and Undressed. He departed Daredevil after the show’s acclaimed first season, and now it appears that we know why he left the series.

Although Pacific Rim had a disappointing box office in the U.S., earning just $101 million domestically, the film was a huge hit overseas. More than 75 percent of the film’s worldwide gross came from theaters outside the U.S., and the film ended its run with over $411 million worldwide. The original film starred Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, and Ron Perlman, and was based on a script by del Toro and Travis Beacham. The most recent draft of the sequel’s script was penned by Prometheus screenwriter Jon Spaihts.

Rick Marshall
Former Contributing Editor, Entertainment
A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…
3 great HBO Max crime dramas you should watch in July 2025
Frances McDormand in Blood Simple.

Although it’s had more than its fair share of branding issues over the years, HBO Max features an impressive library of movies across a wide array of genres. Because it owns decades of Warner Bros. classics, crime is a deep genre on the service.

We’ve pulled together three movies in that genre that are well worth your time. These movies range in decades and styles, but they’re also a reminder of just how many kinds of movies can fit into the brand descriptor of a crime movie. Check them out on HBO Max:

Read more
If you have to watch one Hulu show this July, stream this one
A man holding a gun stares into the eyes of a woman.

Although it doesn’t receive the same attention as Netflix, and it’s now sort of integrated into Disney+, Hulu remains a pretty excellent source for TV, especially for shows oriented toward adults. If you want to watch something on Hulu, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you have a particular show in mind. 

Thankfully, that’s where we come in. If you’re looking for a Hulu show to watch this July, we’d recommend checking out The Great. This satirical look at the rise of Catherine the Great is well worth checking out, even if it doesn’t sound like the kind of show you’d usually enjoy. Here are three reasons why: 

Read more
3 rom-coms on Netflix you need to watch in July 2025
A woman and a man stand next to each other.

The romance section on Netflix has some heavy hitters in July. What's more romantic than The Notebook? The beautiful drama starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams has not aged one bit. Trust me, crying remains mandatory, especially at the end. Speaking of tears, A Star Is Born will have you riding the entire wave of emotions from start to finish.

While those two movies are undoubtedly charming, they will leave you in a puddle. This article features three rom-coms that should put you in a better mood. Check out our picks and their streaming information below. 

Read more