John Boyega Shares Pacific Rim 2 Pic, Confirms Character's Identity

CBR

By Jacob Hill

Published Feb 7, 2017

The former stormtrooper gets ready to pilot a Jaeger.

As the production of "Pacific Rim 2" has slowly started up like a Kaiju rising from the depths, rumors have swirled around the movie. Today we get a look at John Boyega's character's costume, and a definite confirmation as to who exactly he's playing in the sequel.

After a troubled start to production and several title changes, the film settled on Steven Deknight ("Spartacus," "Daredevil") as director and cast John Boyega ("Star Wars: The Force Awakens," "Attack the Block") in the lead role.

Boyega is cool, black and British, and those facts have perpetuated rumors that he is playing the son of Idris Elba's Stacker Pentecost. It has now been confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt; Boyega's tweet confirms his character's surname.

"I am Pentecost" he tweets, confirming that his character is related to the late director of the Jaeger program played by Elba. Boyega sits in darkness, wearing civilian clothes and not the exoskeleton of a Jaeger pilot. With all that rubble on the floor, it doesn't look like the program is doing even as well as it was in the first film.

John Boyega playing the son of Pentecost brings up a lot of interesting questions and speculation. Stacker was afflicted by radiation poisoning, a condition that's not conducive to having kids. Boyega must have been born before Stacker started piloting Jaegers. If that's the case, where was he in the first movie? Stacker had an extremely paternal relationship with Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi), treating her like a daughter. How does John Boyega's character feel about the attention his father showed to a girl he rescued while on the job? Kikuchi is confirmed to be returning for the sequel. Is she going to be a mentor to Boyega or a rival? Or both? Will the two of them be drift compatible? As with most "Pacific Rim" sequel reveals, the answers just bring up even more questions.

Starring John Boyega, Scott Eastwood and Cailee Spaeny "Pacific Rim: Uprising" also stars Jing Tian, Wesley Wong, Zhang Jin, Lily Ji, Chen Zitong, Lan Yingying and Qian Yong Chen. Directed by Steven S. DeKnight and written by Guillermo del Toro, Zak Penn, Jon Spaihts, Derek Connolly, Emily Carmichael, Kira Snyder and T.S. Nowlin, “Pacific Rim: Uprising” will hit theaters on February 23, 2018.