Things were looking pretty rough for Pacific Rim 2, but the sequel has been coming together slowly but surely, first with the addition of former Daredevil showrunner Steven S. DeKnight as director, then with Derek Connolly as screenwriter, and — best of all — with John Boyega joining the cast as our new apocalypse-canceller. Today brings even more good news for fans of the kaiju vs. robots blockbuster, as Pacific Rim 2 has been given an official release date.

Universal Pictures has set a February 23, 2018 release date for Pacific Rim 2, which is a fairly appropriate date — riskier, rowdier genre titles and action flicks tend to perform well in February, so it’s a solid strategy. Its only real competition is in Marvel’s Black Panther, which opens one week before, and an untitled Fox / Marvel superhero project that opens one week later — and could very well be Deadpool 2, which is gearing up to begin production next year.

Jurassic World scribe Derek Connolly is scripting the new sequel, which will star Boyega as the son of Idris Elba’s Stacker Pentecost, who memorably announced plans to cancel the apocalypse in the original film. Although Guillermo del Toro is not directing Pacific Rim 2, he’s still involved as an executive producer while Spartacus creator and former Daredevil showrunner Steven S. DeKnight takes on directing duties. Del Toro, meanwhile, is working on his untitled Cold War romance / sci-fi film, starring Michael Shannon, Octavia Spencer and Sally Hawkins.

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