John Boyega isn't just a new cast member for next year's Pacific Rim Uprising -- he will play Jake Pentecost, son of the late Stacker Pentecost from the original movie. Boyega's also serving as a producer on the sequel, putting weight behind some of the creative decisions as he makes sure that the movie makes fans happy when it lands in theaters. We had a few minutes with Boyega on the red carpet at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival, and we had to ask him why Jaegars appeared to be fighting Jaegars in the first trailers that we saw for Pacific Rim Uprising. And he explained:
First of all, I will say this. When I signed on to produce, along with my other producing partners on this project, I signed on with this premise: What do the fans want? What was the conversation after Pacific Rim? And a lot of fans were saying, 'Jaegar on Jaegar violence!' So I said, 'Jaegar on Jaegar violence!' I said, 'Guys, I don't know how you are going to do it, but the story needs to work, and they need to face off. People want to see it. And there's a hug thing about that which connects to the story, and the characters. It's going to make it really fun. It doesn't really just seem useless. It's actually something that moves the story forward.
The Jaegar battle has been something that has caught fans' eyes from the moment that it happened in the first Pacific Rim Uprising trailer. Jaegars are towering, skyscraper-sized robots that were built to combat Kaiju -- creatures that have emerged from the seas. They shouldn't fight each other. But John Boyega states that fan demand caused the creative team behind Pacific Rim Uprising to put in scenes that pit the robots against each other, and it sounds like they figured out a way to make it happen.
Earlier this year, at New York Comic-Con, Pacific Rim Uprising director Steven S. DeKnight gave a little more insight into the Jaegar in-fighting, telling CinemaBlend:
When this movie starts, the disaster zones from the first movie are still recovering and there's the Kaiju worshippers out there that we saw some of in the first movie. And there's a criminal element. You know, everyone is looking to capitalize off the technology that the [Pan Pacific Defense Corps] has spearheaded. So there's some nefarious activities out there -- I can't say exactly what's going on, but that other Jaeger's pretty badass.
And John Boyega, who was at the Savannah Film Festival with his searing drama Detroit, says that this "nefarious" activity is integral to the plot, and will work to move it forward. See the battle in question in the trailer below:
We will have all of the answers as to HOW the Kaiju could return, and where our greatest battles will occur, when Pacific Rim Uprising opens in theaters on March 23, 2018. Until then, hit up our Preview Page for the movie, where we have a lot of stories generated from our recent visit to the movie's set. And of course, there's always our 2018 Movie Release Calendar, which has every movie opening next year, for you to brush up on.
