Legendary Sets ‘Pacific Rim’ Prequel Under Deal With Eric Heisserer

Legendary Entertainment has entered into a first-look television deal with Eric Heisserer, Variety has learned exclusively.

Under the deal, Heisserer and Carmen Lewis — with whom Heisserer founded the production company Chronology — will develop and shepherd IP-driven and related projects for Legendary. The first project to be developed under the deal will be a “Pacific Rim” origin story series.

“Eric is a multitalented, prolific creator whose track record of critical and commercial successes speaks for itself,” said Jason Clodfelter, president of Legendary Television. “We are thrilled to launch our partnership with Eric, Chronology, and Carmen, with a new entry in the epic, globally popular ‘Pacific Rim’ universe. We are certain their vision will make for an enthralling expansion to Legendary’s beloved franchise.”

News of the TV first-look deal comes just under three weeks after it was announced that Heisserer and Chronology had set a first-look film deal at Sony Pictures.

Heisserer is a celebrated film and TV writer. He received an Academy Award nomination for best adapted screenplay for the film “Arrival” in 2017. His other feature writing credits include the hit Netflix film “Bird Box” as well as “Lights Out,” “Hours” (which he also directed), “Bloodshot,” and the 2010 remake of “A Nightmare on Elm Street.” In television, he developed the Netflix series version of “Shadow and Bone” based on the Grishaverse YA novels.

He is repped by Art/Work Entertainment, CAA, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.

In the “Pacific Rim” franchise, an inter-dimensional rift opens at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, allowing massive monsters to enter our world and begin attacking humanity. In response, humans begin constructing giant fighting robots called Jaegers. The first film in the franchise came out in 2013 and grossed over $400 million at the global box office. The sequel, “Pacific Rim Uprising,” bowed in 2018, while the anime series “Pacific Rim: The Black” aired two seasons on Netflix between 2021 and 2022.