Pacific Rim To Undergo 3D Conversion

Idris Elba in Pacific Rim
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

It would seem that Guillermo del Toro is the latest big name director to be sucked in by the appeal of 3D. There are now reports saying that the Mexican filmmaker has been "strong-armed" by Warner Bros. to convert his upcoming sci-fi/monster epic Pacific Rim. The movie will be the first that del Toro has made using the new technology.

Variety, which broke the news story, notes that this past July at San Diego Comic Con del Toro was quoted saying that he didn't want to make Pacific Rim a 3D "because of the scale and size of the pic's creatures." As you can probably guess, the big motivating factor in the decision was the extra money that comes in from the 3D surcharge. These numbers have a big impact on the final box office score, particularly internationally, and apparently this " likely was too much for Warners to overlook."

Production on Pacific Rim was completed this summer and the movie isn't scheduled to debut until July 12, 2013, meaning that the post-conversion likely won't be a rush job. It should be noted, though, that del Toro didn't film the movie with the intention of it being seen in 3D, and that will likely have an impact on the final product.

Pacific Rim, based on an original screenplay by Travis Beacham, is set in a future where a dimensional portal has ripped open in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and keeps spewing out giant monsters called Kaiju. In order to protect the world from destruction, colossal mechs called Jaegers and pilots are trained to try and stop the invasion. The film's cast includes Charlie Hunnam, Charlie Day, Idris Elba, Ron Perlman, Rink Kikuchi and Clifton Collins Jr. To find out more about the movie, head over to our Blend Film Database.

Eric Eisenberg
Assistant Managing Editor

Eric Eisenberg is the Assistant Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. After graduating Boston University and earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism, he took a part-time job as a staff writer for CinemaBlend, and after six months was offered the opportunity to move to Los Angeles and take on a newly created West Coast Editor position. Over a decade later, he's continuing to advance his interests and expertise. In addition to conducting filmmaker interviews and contributing to the news and feature content of the site, Eric also oversees the Movie Reviews section, writes the the weekend box office report (published Sundays), and is the site's resident Stephen King expert. He has two King-related columns.