For the longest time, it looked certain that Pacific Rim would be remembered as a super-sized flash in the pan.
Guillermo del Toro’s larger-than-life blockbuster struggled to pull in enough box office receipts four years ago, leaving the future of the monsterverse in jeopardy. As time wore on, and the franchise was handed a lifeline in the form of Legendary’s Chinese buyout, Pacific Rim 2 was suddenly back on the table.
One name change and two release dates later and we now stand on the verge of Pacific Rim: Uprising, Steven S. DeKnight’s (Daredevil) gigantic sequel told through the lens of Jake Pentecost, a rebellious Jaeger pilot portrayed by John Boyega of Star Wars fame. If that name rings a bell, it should; he’s the son of Stacker Pentecost, Idris Elba’s booming leader who effectively cancelled an apocalypse in 2013. Now, the Kaiju are ready to stage their resurgence, and Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi) is returning to the fold.
That story arc has been brought into sharp focus today thanks to Uprising‘s extended synopsis, which tees up another race against time as humanity teeters on the brink of extinction.
John Boyega (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) stars as the rebellious Jake Pentecost, a once-promising Jaeger pilot whose legendary father gave his life to secure humanity’s victory against the monstrous “Kaiju.” Jake has since abandoned his training only to become caught up in a criminal underworld. But when an even more unstoppable threat is unleashed to tear through our cities and bring the world to its knees, he is given one last chance to live up to his father’s legacy by his estranged sister, Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi)—who is leading a brave new generation of pilots that have grown up in the shadow of war. As they seek justice for the fallen, their only hope is to unite together in a global uprising against the forces of extinction.
The sequel’s official logline continues by drawing attention to Lambert, the rival pilot played by Scott Eastwood.
Jake is joined by gifted rival pilot Lambert (The Fate of the Furious‘ Scott Eastwood) and 15-year-old Jaeger hacker Amara (newcomer Cailee Spaeny), as the heroes of the PPDC become the only family he has left. Rising up to become the most powerful defense force to ever walk the earth, they will set course for a spectacular all-new adventure on a towering scale.
Joining Boyega to fend off the Kaiju resurgence are Suicide Squad actor Scott Eastwood, Jing Tian, Cailee Spaeny, Rinko Kikuchi, Burn Gorman, Adria Arjona and Charlie Day, who will reprise the role of zany scientist Newton Geiszler.
Pacific Rim: Uprising deploys for duty on March 23rd, 2018, and it’ll march into all regular and IMAX theaters across the globe.
