'Pacific Rim 2' Lands 'Daredevil' Director Steven S. DeKnight

After steering Marvel Television’s “Daredevil” to a successful first season on Netflix, Steven S. DeKnight has been hired to direct “Pacific Rim 2” for Legendary Pictures, an individual familiar with the sequel has told TheWrap.

Guillermo del Toro is stepping away from the director’s chair, though he remains involved in the sequel as a producer alongside Legendary’s Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni, as well as Mary Parent.

Del Toro was unable to direct the sequel, as he currently has his hands full between “Fantastic Voyage” at 20th Century Fox and “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” at CBS Films.

Also Read: 'Pitch Perfect 3' Gets New 2017 Release Date, 'Pacific Rim 2' Postponed Indefinitely

Jon Spaihts wrote the “Pacific Rim 2” script, based on characters created by original writer Travis Beacham and del Toro. Legendary’s Jillian Share will serve as an executive producer.

While “Pacific Rim 2” does not currently have a release date, Universal Pictures is set to distribute the 3D sequel to the original 2013 film, which grossed $411 million worldwide when it was released by Warner Bros.

Also Read: 'Pacific Rim 2' Is 'Not Gone' Guillermo del Toro Says in Response to Report Claiming Universal Has 'Halted' Sequel

DeKnight’s deal comes as a bit of an exciting surprise, as “Pacific Rim 2” will represent his feature directorial debut.

He has plenty of experience catering to genre fans in TV, however. He created “Spartacus” for Starz and worked on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Angel,” “Dollhouse” and “Smallville.”

DeKnight, who served as executive producer and showrunner on the acclaimed first season of “Daredevil,” is represented by CAA. His hiring was first reported by Deadline.

Beyond Deadpool: 10 More Superheroes Who Deserve R-Rated Movies (Photos)

Batman

Batman is essentially a psychopath hunting for psychopaths in a city that seems to be run by psychopaths. This is prime territory for an R-rating.
DC Comics
Daredevil

Marvel and Netflix have rescued Daredevil's legacy from the Affleck era and seem to be moving in this direction already. All that's left would be to transfer Charlie Cox's blind vigilante to the big screen.
Marvel
Wolverine

With Fox recasting many of the X-Men for younger stars, Wolverine may be due for a facelift soon. Hopefully, that means an edgier film that truly shows what Logan is: an animal living amongst us.
Marvel
Cassandra Cain

"Jessica Jones" has shown that a female superhero can not only kick ass, but can be tortured and dark. Cain's backstory is frightening -- she's the daughter of two assassins who abused her as a child in order to mold her into the world's deadliest assassin. She served for a time as Batgirl before traveling to Asia to find and kill her parents. Not a PG kind of story.
DC Comics
Punisher

Yes, the Punisher has already gotten a R-rated film, but it never felt like it's been done right. Again, it looks like Netflix is moving in the right direction. Maybe Jon Bernthal will headline his own film someday.
Marvel
Spawn

Though a cult-classic film came out in 1997, its overall campiness and cheap special effects prevented Spawn from catching on. We'd love a new, grown-up take on the story of an ex-assassin who was murdered before selling his soul to the devil to come back.
Image Comics
Starfire

Starfire's relationship misadventures could lead a comedy in the vein of "Bridesmaids" for a fresh take on the superhero genre.
DC Comics
The Boys

When superheroes get reckless and endanger the world, the government sends in...The Boys. They're a group of super-enforcers who keep heroes in line. There was talk in the past about an Adam McKay adaptation, but that was before he turned his attention to real global disasters with "The Big Short."
Dynamite Entertainment
Lobo

A villain who morphed into an anti-hero, the ultra-violent Lobo was intended to be an indictment of Marvel's Punisher and Wolverine. However, his popularity shot through the roof, and he even became Stan Lee's favorite DC character. A planned film adaptation starring Dwayne Johnson has been indefinitely delayed.
DC Comics
X-Force

Essentially a more militant and aggressive form of the X-Men team, X-Force could lead the new Fox films in a grittier direction. With the introduction of Psylocke and the recasting of key X-Men, many pieces of an original X-Force team should be in place after "X-Men: Apocalypse."
Marvel