Late last year, it looked like the often-delayed sequel Pacific Rim 2 wasn't ever going to happen, with some reports stating it was canceled altogether, while others claimed the sequel may still happen. Earlier this year, the project gained new life, when Daredevil Season 1 showrunner Steven S. DeKnight came aboard to direct, replacing original Pacific Rim director Guillermo del Toro, who is remaining on board as a producer. Today we have word that Legendary Pictures has brought on Jurassic World writer Derek Connolly to craft the script.

The Pacific Rim 2 script was previously worked on by Guillermo del Toro, Zak Penn (Ready Player One) and Jon Spaihts (Prometheus). This report from The Hollywood Reporter states that it isn't clear if Derek Connolly is doing a full page-one rewrite, or if he is incorporating ideas from the previous drafts into his script. Earlier versions of the script reportedly took place several years after the events of the first movie, where the massive fighting robots known as Jaegers have become more common.

Guillermo del Toro is producing alongside Thomas Tull, Mary Parent and Legendary's Jon Jashni. We reported in January that the merger between Legendary and Chinese investment group Dalian Wanda Group, which acquired a majority stake in the company, could mean that Pacific Rim 2 would happen after all, given the success of Pacific Rim in China. The movie earned $111.9 million in China, the movie's highest box office gross in any worldwide market, including the United States, where it took in $101.8 million.

Guillermo del Toro had previously revealed that he planned on bringing back every Pacific Rim character who survived for Pacific Rim 2, which would include Raleigh Beckett (Charlie Hunnam), Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi), Dr. Newton Geiszler (Charlie Day), Gottlieb (Burn Gorman) and Hannibal Chau (Ron Perlman). With a new writer coming aboard, it isn't known if this plan will change, or how many new characters will be introduced. Legendary still hasn't set a release date for Pacific Rim 2, but hopefully we'll learn more after the script has been completed.

Derek Connolly made his feature writing debut with the 2012 indie classic Safety Not Guaranteed, which he co-wrote with director Colin Trevorrow. The writing duo also worked together on last year's blockbuster Jurassic World and the upcoming sequel Jurassic World 2, but he went solo with a number of other projects like the upcoming Monster Trucks and Kong: Skull Island. He also co-wrote Intelligent Life with Colin Trevorrow, which has Lupita Nyong'o attached to star.