'Pacific Rim 2' release date, news details and updates: Sequel to be known as 'Pacific Rim: Maelstrom,' scheduled for 2018 release

After much talk and speculation, Guillermo del Toro's 2013 action-fantasy film, "Pacific Rim," is confirmed to get a sequel officially titled "Pacific Rim: Maelstrom." Aside from that, production for the film is already started in Sydney, Australia.

The news was announced and confirmed by new director Steven DeKnight and actor John Boyega. DeKnight posted a photo through Twitter, which he captioned "Day 1 of shooting. The adventure begins ... #PacificRim2."

Boyega, on the other hand, took to Instagram to post a photo of his script. He captioned the photo, "Here's to a great adventure ahead." The actor will play as the son of Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba) in the upcoming sequel. Boyega also starred in last year's "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," in which he gained momentum for his acting career.

"Pacific Rim" is a science-fiction action film, set in a futuristic world wherein humankind created robots called Jaegers to combat antagonistic monsters called Kaiju.

The first film followed Jaeger pilot, Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam), who was called out of retirement and partnered up with co-pilot Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi) in a last-ditch effort to defeat the Kaiju.

In the first film, a rift was successfully destroyed which may have prevented other monsters from coming to Earth again. However, the sequel might feature new villains who have found a way to break into the planet again.

"Pacific Rim" received generally favorable reviews, but not very high critic scores with only a 71% rating from Rotten Tomatoes which however noted that the film may "sport more style than substance, but Pacific Rim is a solid modern creature feature bolstered by fantastical imagery and an irresistible sense of fun."

The film, however, won Best Sci-Fi Film in the Las Vegas Film Critics Society and Best Visual Effects during the Hollywood Film Awards.

The sequel, "Pacific Rim: Maelstrom," is scheduled to open in theaters on Feb. 23, 2018.