'Pacific Rim 2' release date news: Film sequel to bring back Rinko Kikuchi, Karl Urban, and more?

After the commercial and critical success of the movie "Pacific Rim," it was not surprising that a sequel was announced to be in the works.

When the first film's original director, Guillermo del Toro, was at the helm of "Pacific Rim 2," all of the surviving characters in the original movie were expected to return for the sequel. However, a lot has changed, especially since Steven S. De Knight took over as the director and del Toro remained only as a producer.

When it was previously reported that Charlie Hunnam will not be reprising his role as Jaeger pilot Raleigh Beckett, it became far less certain whether or not any of the original characters in the first "Pacific Rim" movie will be returning for its sequel. However, recent reports have surfaced suggesting that a number of other original "Pacific Rim" cast members will be returning in "Pacific Rim: Uprising."

A photo was recently released on Instagram by cinematographer Dan Mindel, which inadvertently gave clues about the unconfirmed cast members of "Pacific Rim: Uprising."

The post may no longer be available at present time, but according to Slashfilm, Mindel shared a set photo in which a piece of paper is seen to be taped at the side of the camera. This paper supposedly lists some of the "Pacific Rim 2" character names and their corresponding cast members.

Aside from confirmed cast members Scott Eastwood and Cailee Spaeny, included in the list are the names of original "Pacific Rim" stars such as Rinko Kikuchi (Mako Mori), Charlie Day (Newton Geisler), and Burn Gorman (Gottlieb). A name resembling Karl Urban's is reportedly included in the same list.

However, Karl Urban has categorically denied that he is a part of "Pacific Rim: Uprising," having recently responded to an inquiry from a fan on Twitter.

"No, I'm not part of this project," he responded to an inquiry on Twitter. "Look forward to seeing it though."

Regardless of who will be in the film or not, the development of "Pacific Rim: Uprising" is going along smoothly and is currently filming in Australia. If everything proceeds as planned, "Pacific Rim: Uprising" will arrive in U.S. theaters on Feb. 23, 2018 as scheduled.