Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro took a break during post-production on his haunted house thriller Crimson Peak to announce that Pacific Rim 2 is moving forward, with a confirmed release date of April 7, 2017, along with a new animated TV series and a continuation of the comic book. Take a look at the filmmaker's video announcement, then read on for more details.

In a separate statement to Buzzfeed, Guillermo del Toro revealed which characters from last year's Pacific Rim will be back for the sequel.

"The characters I love will return. Raleigh, Mako, Newt, Gottlieb and who knows, maybe even Hannibal Chau - but we are taking them into a fresh territory that will display amazing sights and battles. The first film set the stage and now we're ready to have a blast."

The website noted, however, that it still isn't known if the original actors who played the aforementioned characters, Charlie Hunnam, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, Burn Gorman and Ron Perlman will reprise their roles, although they added, "it would be rather unusual if they did not."

We reported earlier this month that Guillermo del Toro is working on the script with Zak Penn. Original Pacific Rim writer Travis Beacham was involved in crafting the story, but he is currently unavailable since he is working on his new TV series Hieroglyph.

This is the first we're hearing about a Pacific Rim animated series, and it isn't known if the project has a network home lined up yet or not. Pacific Rim earned a decent $411 million worldwide last summer, but over 75% of that global tally came from international markets, with just $101.8 million coming from its domestic release.

Are you excited for Pacific Rim 2 and a new animated TV series? Chime in with your thoughts below.