The last thing we heard about Pacific Rim 2 was that Jurassic World‘s Derek Connolly would be working on a new draft of the script, and now here’s a big damn casting announcement for you.
Deadline reports that John Boyega will lead the sequel to Guillermo del Toro’s Kaiju vs mecha smackdown, and there’s even a bit of character and plot description.
The star of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Attack The Block will be playing the son of Idris Elba’s apocalypse-cancelling Jaeger pilot-turned-commander Stacker Pentecost for director Steven S DeKnight, with production expected to start towards the end of this year.
Del Toro, who remains on board as a producer, and he had this to say. “I am very proud and happy to welcome John into a fantastic sandbox. The Pacific Rim universe will be reinforced with him as a leading man as it continues to be a multicultural, multi-layered world. ‘The World saving the world’ was our goal and I couldn’t think of a better man for the job.”
Legendary Pictures’ Mary Parent said “It is undeniable that with all his talent and natural charm, John stands out amongst today’s generation of young leading men.”
Which is absolutely true, obviously. Boyega was fantastic in The Force Awakens and it’s nice to see the Pacific Rim sequel lock in an actor that good and that exciting. Boyega tweeted confirmation, as well as stating that his production company UpperRooms will co-produce the film, quickly followed by a response from his director.
I’ll be taking on the Pacific Rim franchise with Steven S.Deknight directing. Very excited!
— John Boyega (@JohnBoyega) June 6, 2016
So happy! My company UpperRoom Productions founded by myself & @MrFemiOguns, will co-produce #PacificRim2 alongside @Legendary
— John Boyega (@JohnBoyega) June 6, 2016
I’m doubly excited to be working with you, John! Can’t wait to show the world what we’re cooking up! @JohnBoyega
— Steven DeKnight (@stevendeknight) June 6, 2016
The report does not mention whether any characters will be returning from the original film, however, so we’re still waiting to hear about Charlie Hunnam, Rinko Kikuchi and Charlie Day. Fingers crossed.
No release date for Pacific Rim 2 has been announced. Keep up with the latest genre news with the new issue of SciFiNow.
