The Pacific Rim franchise started in 2013, and it was expected to continue with a new TV series prequel. Although the news of the prequel came out in August 2024, it took a long time before Legendary Entertainment was officially greenlit.

Now, the prequel has received a new exciting update. Per Variety, the Pacific Rim TV show will be officially moving forward at Amazon Studios. The upcoming live-action project is in development and will premiere on Prime Video, per a lead between Legendary and Amazon MGM Studios.

Eric Heisserer was attached to the project, who previously developed the Netflix series Shadow and Bone, and wrote the script for 2016’s Arrival, for which he received an Academy Award nomination. He also wrote the script for 2010’s A Nightmare on Elm Street, 2011’s Final Destination 5, 2018’s Bird Box, and, most recently, 2020’s Bloodshot starring Vin Diesel. Heisserer will serve as writer and executive producer under his Chronology banner.

“Eric is a multitalented, prolific creator whose track record of critical and commercial successes speaks for itself,” Legendary Television president Jason Clodfelter said in a statement at the time of the prequel announcement. “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.”

There are few details about the upcoming Pacific Rim prequel, as the plot details are kept under wraps. There’s no casting attached to the project yet. Other sources teased that the franchise might further grow with new films.

The kaiju franchise Pacific Rim included several releases, although the upcoming prequel will start it all chronologically. The first film was released in 2013, titled Pacific Rim. It had Guillermo del Toro at the helm, and it was a major commercial success, ending the year as the sixteenth highest-grossing film of 2013. It had a generous budget of $190 million, but ended its run with $411 million worldwide, adding $59.3 million in DVD and Blu-ray sales (via The Numbers). The movie was set in the future, where Kaiju monsters arose from an interdimensional portal at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, threatening humans.

The 2013 film was followed by 2018’s Pacific Rim Uprising, serving as a sequel. However, Del Toro didn’t return to helm the film, and only served as a producer. Steven S. DeKnight made his feature-film directorial and writing debut with the 2018 movie, which starred John Boyega, Scott Eastwood, Cailee Spaeny, Jing Tian, Adria Arjona, and Zhang Jin. Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, and Burn Gorman reprised their roles from the original. Unfortunately, Pacific Rim Uprising was a box office flop, with only $290.9 million worldwide against a budget between $150 million to $176 million.

In 2021, the Pacific Rim franchise continued, as Netflix released the animated series titled Pacific Rim: The Black. It featured two seasons with a total of 14 episodes. It received generally positive reviews from critics and the audience.

Source: Variety

Pacific Rim

As a war between humankind and monstrous sea creatures wages on, a former pilot and a trainee are paired up to drive a seemingly obsolete special weapon in a desperate effort to save the world from the apocalypse.