When Pacific Rim 2 arrives in 2017, it won’t necessarily feel like a direct sequel to its 2013 predecessor.

“It was hard to create a world that did not come from a comic book that had its own mythology, so we had to sacrifice many aspects to be able to cram everything in the first movie. Namely, for example, ‘the Drift,’ which was an interesting concept,” director Guillermo Del Toro told The Wall Street Journal. “[Then there was] this portal that ripped a hole in the fabric of our universe. What were the tools they were using? And we came up with a really, really interesting idea. I won’t spoil it, but I think at the end of the second movie, people will find out that the two movies stand on their own. They’re very different from each other, although hopefully bringing the same joyful giant spectacle. But the tenor of the two movies will be quite different.”

To flesh out the story a little more, the director is also working on putting together an animated series based on the movie, in addition to the current ongoing comic book series.

“We’re formulating ideas that are, again, interesting and not the usual route, but the series tackles the stories that happened to pilots working in the Shatterdome, but also cadets learning how to become pilots,” he said. “All of this happens prior to the first movie, and it gives you a little more depth into the background of certain characters that will appear in the second movie. So by the time the second movie comes out, you will have probably one year of the animation airing, and you will have three years of the comic book series ongoing.”

If you want to get your Del Toro fix ahead of the Pacific Rim sequel, you have plenty of opportunities. The director’s vampire horror series The Strain premiered on FX over the weekend, and his animated film Book of Life is slated to hit theaters this fall.