Finn from Star Wars: The Force Awakens is going to pilot a giant robot and fight monsters in Pacific Rim 2 and if that’s not a geek fever dream I don’t know what is.
John Boyega has decided to capitalize on his Star Wars success by headlining another major sci-fi franchise. Deadline reports that he will be playing the son of Stacker Pentecost, the heroic character played by Idris Elba in the original film. It’s a character who wasn’t even mentioned in Pacific Rim, and in fact there’s every damned reason to wonder where he was during the events of the first film, since Pentecost led us to believe that he considered Mako Mori, played by Rinko Kikuchi, to be like a daughter to him, and who went off to his own certain death without even mentioning that he had another offspring.
Also: Download an Exclusive ‘Pacific Rim’ Commentary Track by Original Screenwriter Travis Beacham!
Then again, the Pacific Rim series seems to be undergoing to serious shifts behind the scenes, with director Guillermo Del Toro departing the franchise and making room for former Daredevil showrunner Steven S. DeKnight to take over the helming duties. It seemed as though Mako Mori was being set up as the star of the series, but so far Rinko Kikuchi hasn’t been mentioned in the casting notices.
The original Pacific Rim introduced many story elements that implied a plan was already in place for future sequels, including a line from Idris Elba that implied he would return from the dead (as writer Travis Beacham implied on our own B-Movies Podcast), and a connection between two nerd scientists that was expected to result in the comic relief characters getting their own Jaegar in the ongoing fight with extra-dimensional invaders.
Pacific Rim 2 is expected to begin filming later this year. Little else is known about the project, including whether or not fan favorite character Mako Mori will return. (But she’d damn well better, damn it.)
Top Photo: Walt Disney/LucasFilm
William Bibbiani (everyone calls him ‘Bibbs’) is Crave’s film content editor and critic. You can hear him every week on The B-Movies Podcast and Canceled Too Soon, and watch him on the weekly YouTube series Most Craved, Rapid Reviews and What the Flick. Follow his rantings on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
