The Warner Brothers/Legendary Pictures panel at SDCC featured a whole bunch of movies and news, and the first movies up was the new film from Guillermo del Toro, Pacific Rim. The panel was extra special right from the start, when the curtains pulled back for a couple of extra screens.

The extra screens in Hall H showed a lot of behind the scenes action from the film’s production. The film is described as a “Giant Robot versus Giant Monster” film, and totally lives up to that description. This is a sci-fi epic that is going to get people excited once they see some footage.

Del Toro describes the movie not as a war movie but as an adventure movie with a sense of awe. Del Toro said that they were filming the movie 12 weeks ago, and came to the panel with some of the first finished clips. Joining del Toro on stage were the films stars, Charlie Hunnam, Charlie Day, Ron Perlman, and Rinko Kikuchi.

After a brief introduction to the cast, footage showed plenty of robot on monster action, and looks amazing, especially in light of how recently they finished filming. The film shown has scope. The opening shot featured two regular people in the snow who run across one of the giant robots, and the sense of scale was just impressive. From there, the footage gave everyone there a good feel for the movie, which looks like a lot like Blade Runner meets Robot Jox. There was a lot of action and a rousing speech from Idris Elba’s character.

Del Toro described the movie as robot porn, which got a big reaction from the crowd. He also said they have about 9 different kaiju monsters and about 6 different robots. Also, if you’re a fan of robots with rocket punches, you will not be disappointed. Del Toro said that when it comes to the visual effects, he demanded no motion capture. He said they have put a lot of effort in giving the monsters character. He also said they used plenty of practical effects to go along with the CG work.

Just from the small amount of footage shown, I can’t wait for this movie. Del Toro is a director that I have faith in, and this is another movie that is tailor made for someone with his vision. Listening to del Toro speaks, you can just feel how much effort they have put into the film.

This is going to be the biggest film of 2013, when it opens July 13th.

Panel Photos

All Photos by Dave3 for Geeks Of Doom.