‘Pacific Rim’ Star Charlie Hunnam Seems To Be Missing From ‘Uprising’

It may have been long coming, but Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim Uprising is finally making its way to theaters. While it’s great to see the sequel finally get released, it’s missing a pivotal character from the first film in Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam). Why wasn’t Hunnam a part of the Pacific Rim sequel?

According to Cinema Blend, the story for Pacific Rim Uprising went through several different changes over the past few years. Del Toro handed over the project to Steven DeKnight (Spartacus) so he could pursue other movies, like the Oscar-winning The Shape of Water.

DeKnight then wrote a script that featured Hunnam’s character as the lead. But after the Sons of Anarchy dropped out to star in Papillon, they switched the focus to a brother/sister team. Unfortunately, del Toro and other producers didn’t like the script.

“We finished [the script], and nobody liked it, including me, and I helped write it. And then [producers] Mary [Parent] and Guillermo [del Toro] came up with this idea of the son of Stacker Pentecost,” DeKnight shared.

The shift in storyline sadly means that we didn’t get to see Hunnam return for the sequel. But to be fair, the movie’s main attraction are the giant robots going head-to-head against monsters, and Hunnam’s character did not have that much of a memorable part in the first movie.

While fans would have liked to see Hunnam back in action, it’s great to watch a completely new storyline unfold, especially with Star Wars’ Jon Boyega starring as Jake Pentecost.

Hunnam would have certainly attracted a lot of viewers, but Boyega is quickly becoming a star in his own right. The young actor’s latest movie was Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which also happened to be the highest grossing film of 2017.

As far as Hunnam is concerned, the actor is currently working on a new project with Fifty Shades of Grey director Sam Taylor-Johnson. Hunnam is playing a part in the adaptation of James Frey’s 2005 novel, A Million Little Pieces. The Sons of Anarchy star is starring alongside Billy Bob Thornton, Carla Juri, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson in the film.

The movie also marks a reunion of sorts between Taylor-Johnson and Hunnam. As fans will recall, Hunnam was originally cast to play the part of Christian Grey in Fifty Shades but was forced to back out because of scheduling issues.

At the time, Hunnam was working on the final season of Sons of Anarchy and had agreed to play a role in del Toro’s gothic horror film Crimson Peak. The actor refused to back out of del Toro’s project because the two are great friends.

Unfortunately, with del Toro taking a back seat in Pacific Rim Uprising, Hunnam couldn’t make things work for a return to the hit franchise. Whether or not a third movie will be developed is yet to be seen.

Pacific Rim Uprising opens in theaters on March 23.