Earlier this month Guillermo del Toro revealed that he was writing the script for Pacific Rim 2 with Zak Penn (X-Men: The Last Stand, The Incredible Hulk) which seemed like the strongest indicator yet that a sequel was close to becoming a reality. Now this week he has announced that Legendary Pictures have indeed committed to making the sequel and that it will be released in 2017. That should give Del Toro plenty of time to put the finishing touches on his upcoming horror film Crimson Peak before focusing on Pacific Rim 2. That’s not all, however… apparently there are also plans for a Pacific Rim animated series and a continuation of the comic book series as well. Hit the jump for more details.

According to Buzzfeed, Legendary Pictures has officially scheduled Pacific Rim 2 for release on April 7th, 2017. It’s interesting that they have chosen not to make it a summer release, although as movies like Captain America: The Winter Soldier have shown, April can be just as lucrative. Believe it or not, Fox already has an animated film called Ferdinand scheduled for that day as well, based on the children’s book The Story of Ferdinand.

Del Toro promises that the new movie will bring back characters like “Raleigh, Mako, Newt, Gottlieb and who knows, maybe even Hannibal Chau” although deals are still being worked out with the actors. As for the animated series, it will supposedly be released sometime before Pacific Rim 2 but details are still scarce. Are you looking forward to Pacific Rim 2? Check out Del Toro’s short video announcement below.