Not even a week ago, the news broke out that Pacific Rim 2 (reportedly called Pacific Rim: Maelstrom) was put on hold, after being already delayed with about 2 years. Originally scheduled for a 2015 release date, the sequel was then moved back to August 2017.

Now, IGN reports that Legendary has put it on hold "“ indefinitely. The reason is quite simple: just like always in this industry, it is all about the money. The first Pacific Rim movie had a budget of about $190 million (without the marketing costs) and made about $410 million worldwide. Which is a bit too low "“ actually, it is very low.

Furthermore, we can add that the first movie didn't do so well with the critics either. The ratings were, generally, favorable, but it still didn't break any records.

A blow for Guillermo del Toro

This could come as a blow for Guillermo del Toro, who already mapped all the three episodes of the trilogy "“ and this would be the second time that one of his franchises has been put on hold (the other one being, obviously, Hellboy).

But we do understand why the studio isn't so keen on backing up another big-budget movie for del Toro. Sure enough, Pacific Rim (just like any other movie shot by this director) featured a fantastic world, with creatures having awesome designs (and this is an understatement).

But del Toro's movies have never done too well at the box-office, despite of the imagination which fueled them. His movies never broke any records "“ except for Pan's Labyrinth, who made $83 million on a budget of $19 million, his movies were modest successes at best. And, over the years, they started costing more and more.

Why would Legendary Pictures want to back him up? Just because he has fans who don't actually go to the movies?

But what does the director have to say?