Pacific Rim Uprising Trailer Breakdown: Better Jaegers, Bigger Kaiju

Guillermo Del Toro's Pacific Rim may not have been the critical and financial darling Legendary hoped for, but it turned enough of a profit -- and garnered a strong enough fan-following -- to warrant a sequel. Although Del Toro didn't returned to the director's chair, the world he created is back, this time guided by Steven S. DeKnight. It's been more than four years since Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba and Rinko Kinkuchi's characters joined forces to man their Jaegers and cancel the Apocalypse, and now the giant machines are back to deliver to monster-punching goods once more.

The Kaiju have returned, and they look angrier than ever. Now that the first official trailer for Pacific Rim Uprising has been released, we're here to break down everything it reveals about the highly-anticipated sequel.

Bigger Kaiju

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It comes as no surprise to learn that the Kaiju have returned to attack the Earth once more. As the trailer begins, we see Cailee Spaeny's character Amara Namani surrounded by flames, amid the destruction of what appears to be the new base of operations of the Jaeger Program. We then see the carcass of a Kaiju scattered amid the rubble of a city, as quite a few of the mouth-glowing monsters lay waste to whatever stands before them. This is business as usual for these creatures -- it's what we've come to expect from the interdimensional invading force.

However, it seems like this time they have returned with an added feature, a new weapon that makes them even stronger. As we hear mentioned in the trailer, "They've evolved." And to hammer home that fact, we see the terrifying truth of that statement: the Kaiju, at least some of them, can now combine to create an even bigger, even more destructive beast, Megazord-style.

It seems like any Kaiju can give the humans a run for their money, but their evolution into something even more massive and lethal will prove to be a challenge to defeat, something that, as we have seen, will require all Jaeger-hands on deck.

A New Generation of Fighters

The original movie may have ended with its two main heroes, Raleigh Becket and Mako Mori, very much alive, but already Uprising looks to intoruce a whole new generation of heroes to fight the Kaiju. For now, it appears as if 10 years have passed between the two films, but we don't know yet know what happened to Charlie Hunnam's character. This time around, our main character is Jake Pentecost, played by John Boyega. If the Pentecost surname sounds familiar, that's because Jake is the son of Idris Elba's Stacker Pentecoast, who heroically sacrificed himself in the original film to give the humans the chance to defeat their invaders.

We even see a quick shot of Stacker's picture, presumably in Jake's home. We have no doubt that Jake will strive to live up to his father's legacy as one of the Earth's defenders, and judging by the way the young hero addresses his fellow troops, he can definitely deliver a speech to rival the inspiring fighting words of his own father.

As fans of the original movies know, it takes two to tango -- or rather, to pilot a Jaeger. Jake's partner will be Nate Lambert, played by Scott Eastwood. From what we have seen, Nate can be just as efficient inside a Jaeger's head as firing a weapon of his own when there are no other options. He's a fighter, through and through.

Rounding out the cast of new characters is newcomer Cailee Spaeny as Amara Namani. We know little about her, but it sure looks like she can handle her own in the drift, where she will join forces with two other pilots. Plus, she has the moves, and the attitude, that makes her a perfect Jaeger pilot candidate.

There also appears to be many other new pilots in the Jaeger program, whom we will no doubt find a lot more about as the release of film approaches. But if there is one thing we do know, it's that there seems to be a lot of rivalry between the recruits, considering that, on two separate occasions in the trailer, we see two Jaegers brutally battling each other.

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A Return of Familiar Faces

The movie isn't all about new characters. In fact, in the trailer, we have seen the return of some very familiar faces. Most notably, it almost comes as a relief to see that Charlie Day and Burn Gorman's funky, bumbling and frankly quite mad duo of scientists Newton Geiszler and Hermann Gottlieb have returned, once again to provide crucial details and knowledge about the evolution of the Kaiju.

We've also gotten our first look at the return of Mako, who now seems a far cry from the fighter we saw back in the first Pacific Rim movie. Now, Mako is dressed to impress and, flanked by a security team as she is stepping out of her helicopter, she now looks like she is in an impressive position of power. This seems to tell us that, this time around, Mako will not be the one fighting. She will be the one calling the shots.

New Jaegers, New Weapons

Much of the thrill of the original Pacific Rim was seeing all of the various designs of the Jaegers and what each of them could do. And it seems like Uprising will double down on that novelty by introducing a whole new crop of Jaeger of various sizes, strengths and personalities. Four new robots will take the screen, each with their own respective weapons and color schemes, led by the successor to the first movie's Gipsy Danger, Gipsy Avenger. This new version of the Jaeger looks familiar, but it also looks like it has gotten some pretty nifty upgrades, least of which is a second sword to cut down Kaiju.

The others are the Bracer Phoenix, Guardian Bravo, Saber Athena and Titan Redeemer. Separate colors will help differentiate them, as will their respective weapons like missiles, canons, sabers, whips and swords. And if all that weren't enough, it looks like all of them will have the added ability to fly thanks to the use of specially designed thrusters.

These new Jaegers, as well as their pilots, will have no choice but to learn to fight together if they are to overcome the threat of this new iteration of invading Kaiju.

Slated for release on March 23rd, 2018, Pacific Rim Uprising is still a long ways off. But this trailer has shown us that while it will be a direct sequel to the first movie, it will also take things into unexpected directions. Where the first movie mostly took place in the rainy dark, we now see that things have changed. We are stepping out of the dark, and into the light, quite possibly a reflection of the fact that this movie will strive to be a fun and cheer-worthy experience. The action takes place surrounded by clear and bright skies, to make sure that none of us will miss a single beat from the rock 'em-sock' em action, the epic clash between monster and machine. In 2018, we cancel the Apocalypse, all over again.