Guillermo del Toro reveals why he's not directing Pacific Rim for Legendary and Universal Pictures, based on a screenplay he co-wrote with Clash of the Titans' Travis Beacham. The film - starring Charlie Hunnam as Raleigh Beckett, Idris Elba as General Stacker Pentecost, and Rinko Kikuchi as Mako Mori, among others - released to generally positive reviews from critics, but the movie didn't earn enough money at the worldwide box office to immediately justify a sequel.

In 2014, del Toro officially confirmed plans not only to develop Pacific Rim 2 but also Steven S. DeKnight to take over directing duties. Still, despite departing the project relatively early on, del Toro remained partially involved with the production.

Related: Guillermo del Toro's Original Pacific Rim 2 Story

In an interview with The Shape of Water, Guillermo del Toro mentions just how involved he was with DeKnight's Pacific Rim Uprising. He said:

"I prepped my version of Pacific Rim 2, which was I developed the screenplay, I storyboarded and designed the creatures and the robots and all that. And then that suspension of six months, I left and helped select the new director, Steven DeKnight, and that was about it."

Pacific Rim Set Guillermo del Toro

While Guillermo del Toro still had some semblance of involvement with Pacific Rim 2, it's not as much as he initially hoped. It's widely known that del Toro left the film to make The Shape of Water, which is earning him critical acclaim. But what's interesting is that he chose to leave the project in the first place because of that six-month suspension, which was due to another film taking Pacific Rim 2's spot.

"...You have a thing called a hold on the stages. When you get a hold on Pinewood Studios, they hold the stages for you. But if somebody challenges you, which, in this instance, was xXx 3 - the one with Vin Diesel. They came in and challenged us. And Legendary [Pictures] said we're not going to challenge that, and that meant delaying the movie at least six or seven months."

It appears that del Toro was almost ready to begin shooting Pacific Rim 2 when Harry Potter) and Alejandro Iñárritu (Birdman, The Revenant), helped convince himself to abandon the sequel and pursue Shape of Water. Considering how much praise he's getting for the 2017 film, it seems he made the right decision.

More: Pacific Rim Uprising Trailer Breakdown

Source: KCRW (via CinemaBlend)