Pacific Rim prequel series in development exploring kaiju origin stories

Legendary Pictures has announced that it is developing a new Pacific Rim prequel TV series that will explore the origins of the monster universe.

According to Variety, the series is part of a new "first-look partnership" between Legendary Pictures and Eric Heisserer, the screenwriter of Arrival and Bird Box, which will see the two companies jointly develop a series of intellectual property-related projects, with the Pacific Rim prequel series being the first of them.

Heisserer is best known for his work on Arrival, but he has worked on numerous film and television projects over the past 15 years. He wrote the 2011 prequel to The Thing and also worked on the screenplay for David F. Sandberg's 2016 breakthrough horror film Lights Out. On the TV side, Heisserer is the creator of the Netflix series Call of the Sun. He will produce the Pacific Rim prequel series under his own production company, Chronology, along with his partner Carmen Lewis.

“Eric is a talented and prolific creator with a stellar track record of critical and commercial success,” said Jason Clodfelter, President of Legendary Pictures. “We are thrilled to be working with Eric, Chronology and Carmen on this next chapter in the globally beloved Pacific Rim universe. We are confident their vision will result in an exciting expansion of this iconic Legendary franchise.”

The story of Pacific Rim can be traced back to the movie of the same name released in 2013. Directed by Guillermo del Toro, the film tells the story of humans driving giant mechas to fight against terrifying monsters that threaten the earth. This unique monster movie launched a sequel Pacific Rim 2: Uprising in 2018, and Netflix launched the animated spin-off Pacific Rim: The Black in 2021.