Film currently filming in Sydney, Australia

Director Steven S. DeKnight confirmed on his official Twitter account on Wednesday that filming has begun on Pacific Rim 2 , the sequel to Guillermo del Toro and Travis Beacham's 2013 science-fiction robot film. The clapboard in his picture also confirms the film's official title of Pacific Rim: Maelstrom . Filming is taking place in Sydney, Australia.

Lead actor John Boyega also posted a picture of his copy of the film's script in Instagram.

A photo posted by BOYEGA (@jboyega_) on Nov 9, 2016 at 10:14am PST

Japanese actor Mackenyu on his Twitter account on October 29 that he will head to the film's shooting. His post contains art of two Jaegers (the film universe's giant robots) with the Japanese national flag.

The film will debut in theaters on February 23, 2018. The staff crew will also shoot a short portion of the film in China.

Steven S. DeKnight, showrunner and director on Netflix's Daredevil series, is directing the film. Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni, Mary Parent, and del Toro are credited as producers, and Jillian Share is credited as executive producer for the film. Jon Spaihts wrote the current script attached to the film, and Jurassic World writer Derek Connolly is also on the production team for the film. Universal Pictures will release the film in 3D worldwide.

John Boyega ( Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Finn) is playing the lead role in the film as the son of Idris Elba's Stacker Pentecost character from the first film. Actress and singer Cailee Spaeny ( Counting to 1,000 ) is playing the lead female role in the film. Suicide Squad actor Scott Eastwood, The Great Wall actress Jing Tian, The Belko Experiment's Adria Arjona, and Japanese actor Mackenyu are also cast in the film.

Source: Entertainment Weekly (Oliver Gettell)