Speaking on Steven DeKnight's Pacific Rim sequel with Yahoo! Movies at San Diego Comic-Con star of the 2013 original, Charlie Hunnam discussed Pacific Rim 2 and his level of involvement with the sequel. It seems however, that Hunnam won't be as heavily involved as we may have anticipated - adding that scheduling never seemed to work out in his favor. He does admit to having read one of the early drafts for Pacific Rim 2, however which involved him heavily, but makes no mention of any of the more recent updates. I've gone ahead and transcribed his comments below:
I read an early draft of what they're doing, there was one incarnation of this sequel that involved me heavily, but I was unavailable and there was a very definite schedule that they have to film cause of the, you know, politics and business surrounding film-making. Sometimes non-creative decisions will dictate how, something unfolds which seems bassackwards in the fact that we're making art... but yeah it just ended up being something we couldn't remedy, cause by the time they got their schedule fully realized, I wasn't available. But, I think they're on to something very exciting, it's a serious, a significant progression... It feels like they're really aspiring to push this thing forward and do something original with the sequel so, it's cool!
You can watch the entire interview over on Yahoo!. It is worth noting that Hunnam does not mention being completely absent from the sequel - so we can assume his character will return - most likely in a smaller, possibly even cameo role instead of a leading one.
Previously, producer and director of the original, Guillermo del Toro mentioned that Pacific Rim 2 will be seeing the return of many of the original's characters.
Hitting theaters on February 23rd, 2018, Pacific Rim 2 will take the Pacific Rim franchise to new heights, exploring more of the Kaiju's origins and introducing us to new Jaegers, new technology and new characters! Star Wars: The Force Awakens' John Boyega will play the role of (Idris Elba) Stacker Pentecost's son. As new casting and plot details are released for the Pacific Rim sequel, we'll be one of the first to let you know! Don't miss a beat and subscribe to the Pacific Rim 2 news blog here on Scified, for instant updates!