Legendary and Universal Pictures have set a release date for Pacific Rim 2, the sequel to del Toro’s camp Kaiju vs Mech brawler, for February 23, 2018.

Pacific Rim poster

Pacific Rim 2 will see Star Wars: The Force Awaens‘ star John Boyega play the son of Idris Elba’s character from the first flick; and undoubtedly he will encounter a monster in his mech and fist fights will ensue.

This release date sets the title to compete with the releases of Predator and Marvel’s Black Panther, which both release in the same month. In addition to this, Pacific Rim 2 will not be directed del Toro this time around, with Daredevil’s Steven S. DeKnight stepping up to the plate instead. This title will mark DeKnights first feature film.

The sequel to the 2013 film has had a troubling history, with Warner Bros. dropping the project from their release schedule due to a reported lack of interest; which is how the project ended up in Universal’s hands. Pacific Rim grossed $309.2 million internationally upon its theatrical release.