Charlie Hunnam returning to Pacific Rim 2? Guillermo del Toro says 'lot of the cast' is returning

After plenty of ups and downs, Pacific Rim 2 finally saw the daylight with the announcement of its sequel. But after the addition of Jon Boyega in the lead role, not much was said about the movie by Legendary Pictures. While fans were wondering about the return of Charlie Hunnam, Guillermo del Toro's recent hint is a ray of hope.

The director of the first Pacific Rim movie and the producer for the sequel was asked by The Hollywood Reporter whether Hunnam and Rinko Kikuchi would return as Jaeger pilots Raleigh Becket and Mako Mori.

He said: "As a producer, I learned not to declare anything about a movie I'm not directing. I can tell you this – a lot of the cast from the first movie is coming back. I leave those communications to Steven DeKnight. He's not only a director, but he's actually a guy I respect and admire and it's his movie."

Boyega will enter the movie as the son of Stacker Pentecost – played by Idris Elba. But how the director will justify his entry is still a mystery as in the prequel Pentecost was shown as a lone man with his adopted daughter Mako as his only family. Del Toro finds the addition of the Force Awakens actor Boyega is a great move.

"I admire him tremendously," said Del Toro. "The idea for me is that this is a continuation of the great leadership character that was Idris Elba. It's a very different character, but I love the idea of having a main character who is not a white Anglo-Saxon guy. Before the heated conversation about diversity in film started we were doing Pacific Rim. And I think that universe is a huge proponent of that."

Directed by Steven DeKnight, Pacific Rim 2 is scheduled to premiere in 2017. Clint Eastwood's Clint Eastwood's son Scott is rumoured to also be playing a key role in the sequel.