Formerly known as Pacific Rim: Maelstrom, the long-awaited sequel to Hollywood’s love letter to giant robots and monsters is only a handful of months away. Pacific Rim: Uprising has released an official trailer that gives us a look at the new Jeagers with some truly unpalatable ambient music playing in the background. These upgraded bots are faster and more fluid than those in the first movie and seem more customized toward the pilots’ style. But the trailer also hints at some possible insurrection.
Starring John Boyega as Jake Pentecost, a young man opting for a life of underground crime over following in his late father‘s footsteps as a Jaeger pilot. When the Kaiju re-emerge stronger than ever, he changes his mind. A few shots in the video above show two Jaegers duking it out against each other, suggesting either some rebellion against command or a personal score to settle. The title of the movie, Pacific Rim: Uprising, could also reference this, or maybe the origin of the Kaiju themselves. Then again, it might just point to the new big boss monster – the very big boss monster – waiting at the end. Remember, the original title for the movie was Maelstrom. It’s more likely that last one, given the point of this movie is to cater to our desire to see giant robots fighting giant monsters. Wouldn’t want to over-complicate the fan service with things like plot development.
We see a lot more of the Jaegers than we do the Kaiju, and reactions on Youtube have been a little mixed. Some claim the added fluidity and dexterity of movement makes them seem less realistic and more cartoony. As for the Kaiju, they’ve upgraded too, and it looks like several of them will attack at once in Pacific Rim: Uprising. It would be nice to get some insight into how they came to be, but judging from the trailer, the focus for Uprising is going to be on the people.
Pacific Rim: Uprising hits the big screen on March 23, 2018.