Chris Luckett

Guillermo del Toro’s in-the-works sequel to Pacific Rim, titled Pacific Rim: Maelstrom, turns out to have lost one of its leads.

Charlie Hunnam broke the news to Yahoo! Movies that he exited the project very early on.

“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,” said Hunnam.

Hunnam was previously reported to be returning and was indeed attached at the very beginning, but had to leave when scheduling couldn’t be worked out.

“They have a very definite schedule that they have to film [by],” Hunnam said. “It ended up being, unfortunately, something that we couldn’t remedy, because by the time they got their schedule fully realized, then I wasn’t available.”

“But I think they’re onto something really exciting,” he continued. “It’s a serious, significant progression from [Pacific Rim].”

Ron Perlman and Max Martini are still expected to return. John Beyoga (The Force Awakens) and Scott Eastwood (The Longest Ride) have also signed on for Maelstrom.

Pacific Rim: Maelstrom stomps into theatres February 23, 2018.

(Source: Yahoo! Movies)