John Boyega joins the 'Jaeger uprising' in first teaser for Pacific Rim: Uprising

Having already battled aliens in ‘Attack the Block’ and ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens,’ John Boyega clearly hasn’t lost his taste for sci-fi action.

The 25-year old British actor is taking the lead in ‘Pacific Rim: Uprising,’ the sequel to director Guillermo del Toro’s 2013 giant monsters-versus-robots epic – and now we have our first look at the film courtesy of a new viral video.

While it’s likely that this teaser footage was created specifically for this video and may not appear in the film itself, the footage does go some way to suggest that director Steven S. DeKnight’s film will be taking a somewhat different approach to the concept.

For one, it’s notable that this teaser makes a point of explaining the Jaegers – the giant robots, each controlled via a neural link by two human pilots – and their reason for being. As such, the marketing is not assuming audience familiarity with the first film; a smart move, as ‘Pacific Rim’ was a somewhat minor box office success in the west, and owes its sequel primarily to the first film’s huge popularity in China.

On top of this, the Jaegers themselves are very different in design: far sleeker and more aerodynamic than the clunkier models of the original. This would also suggest the sequel may be a bit more action-heavy than its predecessor, which was criticised for not featuring enough of the giant battles that it was sold on.

Boyega will portray Jake Pentecost, the son of Idris Elba’s character from 2013’s ‘Pacific Rim.’ The sequel will see him join a new generation of Jaeger pilots as the threat of the Kaiju rises again.

Neither Elba nor ‘Pacific Rim’ leading man Charlie Hunnam will be back, but original stars Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day and Burn Gorman will back. Other newcomers joining Boyega include Scott Eastwood, Tiang Jing and Adria Arjona.

‘Pacific Rim: Uprising’ opens in UK cinemas on 23 February 2018. Before that, we’ll see Boyega reprise the role of Finn in ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi,’ opening 14 December.

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