Pacific Rim: Uprising Set Photos Find John Boyega In Full-On Hero Mode

Though they were once held up as humanity’s last line of defense against the invading Kaiju, by the time Pacific Rim: Uprising opens in 2018, those towering Jaegers will no longer be considered indispensable; in fact, according to director-turned-producer Guillermo del Toro, the Pan Pacific Defense Corps and their prized assets have essentially succumbed to corruption, with the Powers That Be utilizing the WMDs against one another, rather than fighting off monsters from another dimension.

That places our hero, in this case John Boyega’s gifted Jaeger pilot, in quite the predicament. As the son of Idris Elba’s Stacker Pentecost, Boyega’s protagonist faces a tall order if he really is to step out of his father’s shadow, but when the Kaiju stage a resurgence from the murky depths of the Pacific ocean, the Jaeger program suddenly regains its sense of urgency. And so, John Boyega’s pilot prepares to climb back into the cockpit once more.

Currently deep in production Down Under, previous set photos have shown either Boyega or his stunt double decked out in battle gear but today, a fresh batch of stills find The Force Awakens breakout in full-on hero mode, piloting what we assume to be the giant apparatus found inside a Jaeger’s head. Daredevil showrunner Steven S. DeKnight is behind the lens for this one.

Another apocalypse is looming, and Pacific Rim: Uprising will see Boyega’s hero join forces with Lana Candor, Scott Eastwood, Jing Tian, Cailee Spaeny, Ivanna Sakhno and Adria Arjona – and definitely not Karl Urban – on February 23, 2018.