Guillermo del Toro has given full-throated support to Steven S. DeKnight, who was announced late Tuesday to direct Legendary Pictures' "Pacific Rim 2."

"We are positive that this is a great choice to take what was established and go beyond!" del Toro told HitFix.

The selection of DeKnight, who created Starz's "Spartacus" and served as showrunner of Netflix's "Daredevil," follows months of uncertainty about the fate of the sequel to the 2013 giant-monster film. Plans to begin shooting last fall were suddenly derailed in September when the sequel was placed on "temporary hold," only to be removed from the Universal Pictures schedule altogether.

However, even as del Toro turned his attention to other movie projects, he remained optimistic about the future of "Pacific Rim 2." "Pac Rim 2 cancelled?" he tweeted last month. "Don't believe everything you read. It's still going and I'll remain w it in one way or another!"

"Pacific Rim 2" will mark the feature directorial debut of DeKnight, who will work from a script by Jon Spaihts.

"Met w DeKnight and we are all so happy with our choice to take Pac Rim 2 to where we know it can go!" del Toro, who will serve as a producer of the sequel, tweeted last night. "Now Pac Rim is a known property and we can expand big!"

No release date has been announced.