San Diego Comic-Con is over, but a new update from Pacific Rim star Charlie Hunnam just hit us like a kaiju punch to the heart! Pacific Rim 2 is happening, but Hunnam won’t be returning to his role, Raleigh Becket!

Hunnam dropped the bombshell while speaking with Yahoo! Movies about his next film, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.

“I read an early draft [of Pacific Rim 2] …There was one incarnation of this sequel that involved me heavily, but I was unavailable,” explained Hunnam.

He blamed his conflicting film schedule and “politics” for his inability to reprise his role, but he added that he was “very excited about it. I’m glad they’re making it.”

If Hunnam is out, then it probably means that Star Wars: The Force Awakens star John Boyega will be the primary character of Pacific Rim 2, which is currently known as Pacific Rim: Maelstrom. Boyega will be playing the son of Stacker Pentecost, the character portrayed by Idris Elba in the first film, who also had its most iconic line: “Today, we are canceling the apocalypse!” Hopefully we’ll get to see Elba reprise his role for some flashbacks with his on-screen son.

Just because Hunnam won’t be around for the sequel doesn’t mean that other cast members can’t reprise their parts though. We’d love to see Rinko Kikuchi return as Mako Mori, and continue to kick some kaiju ass. And we wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Charlie Day, Max Martini, and Ron Perlman back in some capacity.

Pacific Rim: Maelstrom will be directed by Steven S. DeKnight, and it is slated to be released on February 23, 2018.

How do you feel about Hunnam’s exit from the Pacific Rim sequel? Smash a few giant monsters in the comment section below!

Relive the first film with our interviews with the cast: