After a few false starts, the sequel to Guillermo del Toro’s 2013 sci-fi machine versus monster movie Pacific Rim, titled Pacific Rim: Maelstrom, is finally in the early stages of production. The film recently cast Star Wars actor John Boyega as the film’s lead, seemingly replacing Charlie Hunnam and Rinko Kikuchi — who have been mysteriously absent from the sequel’s roster of talent.

Despite producer del Toro’s claims that “a lot of the cast from the first movie is coming back,” it looks like Hunnam may not be one of them. During an interview with MTV News’s Josh Horowitz at San Diego Comic-Con this past weekend, the King Arthur: Legend of the Sword actor said his busy schedule is to blame for keeping him out of his Jaeger in Maelstrom.

“There was definitely an incarnation of this sequel that involved me, but there was a changing of ownership, of the studio itself, Legendary, and I think that because they partnered up with a Chinese company — and the film was so successful there — there was a real agenda to get that film into production as soon as possible,” Hunnam said. “And I was already booked up for a significant period of the time they were going to need.”

Now, this doesn’t mean Hunnam won’t appear in the film, but it definitely suggests that his role with be very limited — that is, if he was even able to clear a few days in his filming schedule.