The giant robot revival that was Pacific Rim could become a major, long-running franchise if director and co-writer Guillermo Del Toro has anything to do with it. In an interview with Collider, Del Toro said that the second film is slated to start filming in late 2015, following a screenwriting process earlier that year, and that the second film will lead directly into a third.

“Some of your favorite characters come back, some others don’t because we have decided that we’re going to shoot ambitiously and say, ‘Let’s hope we have three movies,’ so some characters come in at the second, hoping that it will ramp up on the third one,” Del Toro said.

An animated series has been announced as part of the lead-up to the second film to help connect the movies. The first Pacific Rim brought in more than $400 million in global box office revenue and received positive reviews from many critics. It has also won multiple visual effects awards from various film critic societies, plus an Annie Award.