Warning: Some spoilers for Pacific Rim Uprising are present in this rundown. If you haven't seen the film yet, bookmark this list and come back after you're current.
The wait is over, the battle waged, and Pacific Rim Uprising is showing in theaters ready to give us the next battle in the war between humanity, its Precursor adversaries, and the Kaiju pitted in the middle of it all. With a pretty damned thrilling second entry, which built on an already stellar opening film, a potential third movie is a subject that now weighs on our minds. Surely, with the big tease at the end of the film promising retaliation for the events of Steven S. DeKnight's would-be blockbuster, at least one more adventure should be in the works for the Pacific Rim universe.
So say this third entry has been greenlighted, given the fact that the film has already made its budget back in the first weekend, and will probably continue to chug along at the international box office. What should a third Pacific Rim movie have in it? Well, we've got some ideas, and they're mostly based on what we've seen in Pacific Rim Uprising. That said, this is the last call for all that want to avoid spoilers, as it's time to dream up the next big adventure for the Pan Pacific Defense Corps and its intrepid men and women.
Newt's Further Spiral Into Madness
Throughout Pacific Rim Uprising's second and third act, we see Charlie Day's Dr. Newt Geiszler become more and more compromised by a Precursor presence in his head. This leads him to do a whole bunch of stuff he wouldn't normally do, like compromise the defenses of humanity, almost choke out his best friend / foil Dr. Gottlieb, and wear crisp, flashy suits. By the end of the film, the Precursors seem to have a greater hold on his psyche, and in the next Pacific Rim film, the stage seems set to see good Newt and bad Newt square off to see who gets control for good. Considering Charlie Day did a pretty good job laying the foundation for this battle throughout Uprising, seeing him go full throttle for one final charge is too good of an opportunity to pass up.
An All Out War With The Precursors
Much like Charlie Day and the fall of Newt, the conflict between humanity and the Precursors seems to be leading to a gigantic showdown, with John Boyega's Jake Pentacost promising a full-fledged invasion through The Breach. With the PPDC set to take the fight to the alien race that's been trying to seize control of the Earth, we might finally get to see more of the other side of the rift, as Jake and company bring the fight to the enemy. And just as we'll be entering the domain of the Precursor menace, they just might cross over into our world yet again, with everything they've got -- possibly leading to one epic two-front fight sequence.
The Return Of Some Familiar Faces
While there were cameos from several other members of the Pacific Rim cast in its follow-up, everything from scheduling conflicts to the trimming of a bloated script lead to only three characters returning from Guillermo del Toro's foundation film. But as the stakes of this hypothetical third Pacific Rim film should be raising, so should the profile of old friends like Raleigh Becket, Tendo Choi, and Hannibal Chau. Better still is the fact that the actors behind all three characters seem more than willing to return into the fray. All that needs to happen is the crafting of a good reason for their return.
More New Recruits For The PPDC
If the follow-up to Pacific Rim Uprising is going to up the ante, that means there's going to be a need for more Jaegers and more pilots to drive them. We saw not only new Jaegers make an appearance in the new movie, but we also saw the next generation of hot shot pilots being trained to join the ranks of the PPDC's fittest and finest. If Jake Pentacost and his own new recruit, Amara Namani, want to win the war for good, they're going to need some new, fresh faces who can link minds and wreck up any Kaiju that decide to cross over into our side of The Breach. New pilots means new Jaegers, and new Jaegers means more exciting attacks that the folks behind Pacific Rim's next outing can invent.
A Couple Of Friendly Kaiju Allies
Much like the Godzilla franchise before it, what was once our enemy could possibly become our friends. Surely, not all of the Kaiju drafted into service by the Precursors are believers in the cause. As such, those beasties that would rather pal around with humanity than smash them up would serve as both cute portents towards a possible co-operative future between human and Kaiju kind, as well as a very valuable asset in the war against their would be oppressors. Plus, who wouldn't want to see a Jaeger pilot properly drifting with a living, breathing Kaiju, riding triumphantly into battle?
Some Sort Of Setup For A Monsterverse Crossover
You want it. I want it. Guillermo del Toro wants it. Ever since the so-called Monsterverse that contains Godzilla and Kong: Skull Island became a parallel hit for parent company Legendary Pictures, a crossover between that world and the one of Pacific Rim has been something that folks can't stop talking about. While director Steven S. DeKnight thinks that this should be a concept executed after a third Pacific Rim film, that just means it's a perfect candidate for the next killer mid / post credits stinger. Picture it: the war against the Precursors is over, there's nice Kaiju on our side, and the world feels content. And at that moment, a portal opens, allowing Godzilla, King Kong, and all other monsters from that universe in question to cross over into the Pacific Rim universe. Cut to black, and begin printing money.
