Pacific Rim Uprising: all the updates on the new mech vs. monster epic

The downside of sequels is that they so rarely have anything new to offer. Unless they’re part of a planned, ongoing storyline, like the Star Wars or Harry Potter movies, sequels are usually about mechanically reproducing the most popular parts of the original film, and making them bigger, louder, and faster. But the “faster” part can be one of the upsides of sequels. Once a franchise-launching film gets all the roadblocks of world-building, exposition, and character development out of the way, sequels have a clear road to the action, and they can rev the motor and speed along without impediment. 

That certainly holds true for Pacific Rim: Uprising, the slick, upbeat sequel to Guillermo del Toro’s giant-monster movie Pacific Rim. The 2013 film had a lot of heavy lifting to do, as it established a version of Earth beset by immense, other-dimensional monsters called kaiju, and explained humanity’s effort to fight them off with equally titanic mecha-suits called jaegers. Del Toro’s film promised a high-tech modern update on the Japanese rubber-suit monster movies of the 1950s through the 1970s, which featured gargantuan beasts clashing against each other, sometimes flattening cities in the process. But Pacific Rim sometimes got bogged down in its own mythology, as del Toro and co-writer Travis Beacham tried to cover the protagonists’ personal baggage, build in del Toro’s usual themes of people haunted by history, and explain new concepts like the Drift, the psychic connection jaeger pilots have to forge with each other to run their huge machines.

AMC Theaters released an IMAX trailer for Pacific Rim Uprising, the upcoming sequel to Guillermo del Toro’s 2013 film Pacific Rim, and it’s packed with giant robot vs. giant monster action.

Prior trailers for the film revealed that this movie is set a decade after the first film, in which humanity faced down a horde of otherworldly monsters known as Kaiju, using giant mechs called Jaegers. The Last Jedi‘s John Boyega heads up the cast, starring as the son of Stacker Pentecost (played by Idris Elba in Pacific Rim) as he gathers a new band of Jaeger pilots to face a renewed threat.

Legendary Entertainment has released a new trailer for Pacific Rim Uprising, the sequel to Guillermo del Toro’s 2013 film Pacific Rim.

In the first movie, humanity faced an invasion of giant monsters called Kaiju, which were beaten back by a small band of heroes piloting giant mechs called Jaegers. In Pacific Rim Uprising, directed by Steven S. DeKnight, the Kaiju have returned a decade later.

Earlier this summer at San Diego Comic-Con, we got our first, brief glimpse of Pacific Rim Uprising, in the form of a viral recruitment video for the Jager Corps. At a panel during New York Comic Con today, the movie’s first trailer got its debut, showing off John Boyega’s new character and plenty of giant robot action.

The trailer features a slew of new Jaeger mechs, as well as returning cast members like It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s Charlie Day (reprising his role as the uniquely enthusiastic Dr. Newton Geiszler). But the trailer also sets this up as a film that will hand things off from the last generation of heroes to the next one, with Boyega’s Jake Pentecost taking up the mantle of his father, played by Idris Elba in the previous film.

The first teaser for Pacific Rim Uprising — the upcoming sequel for 2013’s glorious giant robots vs. kaiju masterpiece, Pacific Rim — is here, and it provides the first look at John Boyega’s Jake Pentecost (the son of Idris Elba’s character in the first film).

Boyega looks great in the brief shot, but this is Pacific Rim, so you’re not really here for that. You’re here for the giant mechs (i.e., Jaegers). In between a bunch of close-up shots and dramatic voiceover from Ellen McLain — who might sound familiar as the voice of Glados from Portal — the teaser hypes a whole bunch of new machines. Chief among them might be the successor to the iconic Gypsy Danger mech from the original: the even more comically named Gypsy Avenger, which seems to be piloted by Boyega.

The sequel to Guillermo Del Toro's robot monster brawl flick Pacific Rim is set to hit theaters on February 23rd, 2018, reports The Wrap. Pacific Rim 2 was originally slated for an April 2017 release after an original announcement three years prior, but continuous delays kept pushing it back while rumors percolated regarding the film's fate. Then, in February, Daredevil head writer Steven S. DeKnight was signed on to direct and Del Toro gave his blessing. Earlier this month, Star Wars' John Boyega was cast as the star.

So it would seem audiences will get to watch skyscraper-sized robots do battle with giant, extradimensional lizard beings once more. For those unaware, Pacific Rim centers on humanity's fight against the Kaiju, which are gigantic Godzilla-like monsters. To fight them, humanity creates the massive Jaegers units, which require two human pilots to meld minds and assume control of the robot to pummel its opponents. It's not exactly Oscar bait, but Pacific Rim was a ton of fun. The sequel, with Boyega onboard, sounds like a much-needed second serving.

John Boyega was one of the breakout stars of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and now the creators of another franchise are hoping he'll bring that same charisma and energy to fighting giant monsters. Deadline reports that Boyega has signed on to star in Pacific Rim 2, the sequel to Guillermo del Toro's 2013 monster movie that's scheduled to start production later this year under the direction of Steven S. DeKnight (Daredevil, Dollhouse).

"I am very proud and happy to welcome John into a fantastic sandbox," del Toro said in a statement. "The Pacific Rim universe will be reinforced with him as a leading man as it continues to be a multicultural, multi-layered world. ‘The World saving the world' was our goal and I couldn't think of a better man for the job."

The sequel to monster movie Pacific Rim will be directed by the executive producer and head writer of Daredevil, Deadline reports. Steven S. DeKnight will helm Pacific Rim 2, his first ever directing gig after creating TV series Spartacus, and helping to to make Netflix original Daredevil a success. Shortly after the news was announced, Pacific Rim director Guillermo Del Toro offered his blessing on Twitter, saying that he'd met with DeKnight and he and the team behind the sequel were "so happy with our choice."

It was announced that Pacific Rim would be getting a sequel in 2014, a year after the monsters vs. mecha movie scored $411 million at the worldwide box office. At the time, del Toro said the sequel would come out on April 2nd, 2017, and would see a return of characters from the first movie. "Raleigh, Mako, Newt, Gottlieb and who knows, maybe even Hannibal Chau —€” but we are taking them into a fresh territory that will display amazing sights and battles," the filmmaker said in a statement. "The first film set the stage and now we're ready to have a blast."