Poor Guillermo del Toro. It seems the moment he becomes attached to a major project, something happens to it that probably shouldn't. After all this is the great creator behind "Pan's Labryinth" and the two terrific "Hellboy" movies.

Yet the Mexican auteur constantly finds his most ambitious work either delayed or outright abandoned. "Hellboy 3" is the highest profile postponement he has undergone in his career with the epic comicbook trilogy left unfinished to the frustration of many fans. Both of those films were critically praised but failed to live up to the lofty box office standards of other movies in the genre.

The first "Hellboy" reportedly cost $66 million but only raked in $59 million at the American box office and an overall $99 million worldwide. The sequel made $75 million in 2008 despite an $85 million budget; its $160 million worldwide was likely looked down upon in the light of Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" making over $1 billion in that same year.

Now it seems that del Toro will face the same predicament with "Pacific Rim 2: Maelstrom." The sequel to the cult classic seemed like a sure thing just weeks ago, but now it looks like that movie might also be postponed altogether.

The Hollywood Reporter claims that the first film was successful abroad, raking in a grand total of $411 million worldwide. That film was made on a whopping $190 million budget, making only $101 million in the U.S. A sequel would likely cost a similar amount, given the film's CGI requirements and that might be one reason why the sequel is currently on the ropes.

Del Toro still has other projects lined up and will be releasing his latest film "Crimson Peak" in just a few weeks. However, the report from Hollywood Reporter claims that movie was seen as too expensive for an R-Rated film.