Though the movie didn't have a strong theatrical run stateside--despite having a strong cult following--Pacific Rim made the majority of its money overseas, leading to the giant robot fight-fest doing well enough to warrant a sequel. It wasn't a smooth road, with the movie trapped in development hell for a long time and eventually needing a new director (Guillermo del Toro wrote and directed the original), but the production seems to have gone swimmingly for Pacific Rim: Uprising. Rising star John Boyega was cast as the lead role and, after months of filming, has announced that he has officially wrapped production. Check out his epic announcement below.
John Boyega is following his career-making performance in Star Wars: The Force Awakens with Pacific Rim: Uprising, where he stars in the lead role of Jake Pentecost. Boyega took to Twitter to announce that he has officially finished his scenes for the sequel and though there are no giant robots or monsters, he still found a pretty badass way to make his departure. "It's been an amazing six months! That's a wrap on #PacificRimUprising," his tweet reads. He accompanied the post with a picture of himself in all black walking away from the Chinese version of the Hollywood sign. That's a pretty spot-on way to close out your time in China.
Fun Fact (depending on your definition of fun, I guess): That sign in the post sits on top of Movie Metropolis Hill, which overlooks the Wanda Qingdao Movie Metropolis in China. It's China's premiere international filmmaking destination and is aiming to be world's largest movie studio. Though still unfinished, the studio is basically meant to be Disney World for filmmakers. Meant to capture the spirit of Hollywood's iconic sign, the giant white kanji atop the hill read: "Movie Metropolis of the East."
Not too much is known about Pacific Rim: Uprising, but John Boyega leads a cast filled with up-and-comers as Jake Pentecost, the son of Idris Elba's Stacker Pentecost, who perished at the end of the first film. Jake is a Jaeger pilot like his father before him, but other than that his character is a mystery. Boyega showed huge leading man potential in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, possessing lots of charisma and heart that he will no doubt apply to Pacific Rim: Uprising.
Pacific Rim: Uprising is directed by Steven S. DeKnight and very little is currently known about the plot. However, you can bet that it will involve giant robots fighting something, which is enough of a draw in of itself. The film stars John Boyega, Scott Eastwood, Cailee Spaeny, and Jing Tian, with Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, and Burn Gorman returning in their roles from the original movie.
Pacific Rim: Uprising is currently scheduled to hit theaters on February 23, 2018. To learn more about the film, here's What We Know So Far.
