Claim: Pacific Rim is a work.

Pacific Rim is a 2013 American science fiction monster film directed by Guillermo del Toro , and starring Charlie Hunnam , Idris Elba , Rinko Kikuchi , Charlie Day , Burn Gorman , Robert Kazinsky , Max Martini and Ron Perlman . The screenplay is by Travis Beacham and del Toro , with a story by Beacham .   The film is set in the future , when Earth is at war with the Kaiju , colossal monsters which have emerged from an interdimensional portal on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean . To combat the monsters , humanity unites to create the Jaegers , gigantic humanoid mechas each controlled by at least two pilots , whose minds are joined by a mental link . Focusing on the war 's later days , the story follows Raleigh Becket , a washed-up Jaeger pilot called out of retirement and teamed with rookie pilot Mako Mori as part of a last-ditch effort to defeat the Kaiju .   Principal photography began on November 14 , 2011 , in Toronto and lasted through April 2012 . The film was produced by Legendary Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. . It was released on July 12 , 2013 , including in 3D and IMAX 3D , receiving generally positive reviews ; the visual effects , action sequences and the nostalgic style were highly praised . While it underperformed at the box office in the United States , it was highly successful in other markets . It earned a worldwide total of more than $ 411 million -- $ 114 million in China alone , its largest market -- becoming Del Toro 's most commercially successful film to date .   A sequel titled Pacific Rim : Uprising , directed by Steven S. DeKnight and produced by Del Toro , and with Kikuchi , Day , and Gorman reprising their roles , is scheduled for release on February 23 , 2018 .