In 2014, Pacific Rim co-writer and director Guillermo del Toro implied that the war between monsters and robots would continue in an animated series. It was originally meant to precede the live-action sequel, Pacific Rim: Uprising, but that ended up coming out first. Now, Netflix has finally revealed its first look at Pacific Rim: The Black.
It's unlikely that another movie for the Pacific Rim franchise will be released in the future. However, the anime series, set in the same continuity as the movies, sounds promising. Pacific Rim's epic fight scenes already felt like something out of an anime, so an anime is the natural evolution for the franchise. Pacific Rim: The Black is an international co-production, animated by the Japanese studio Polygon Pictures and created by Greg Johnson (responsible for the animated Wolverine And The X-Men) and Craig Kyle (one of the talents behind Thor Ragnarok).
The Story
In the original film, colossal Kaiju invade Earth through an interdimensional portal. To fight them, humanity unites and creates giant robots, known as the Jaegers, to combat these monsters. Each robot is controlled by two co-pilots whose brains are connected through a mental link. After a seemingly decisive victory at the first movie, the Kaiju returned to Earth in Pacific Rim: Uprising.
Few plot details about Pacific Rim: The Black have been revealed, but we know it involves the evacuation of Australia and two siblings piloting a Jaeger in an attempt to fight Kaiju. Netflix's official plot description it reads as follows:
There was a time when Kaiju rose from the Pacific Rim only to encounter gigantic robots, Jaegers, built to fight them back. That time has passed. Now, Australia has been overrun by Kaiju, forcing the evacuation of an entire continent. Left behind, teenage siblings Taylor and Hayley embark on a desperate search for their missing parents, teaching themselves to pilot a battered, long-abandoned Jaeger to help in their quest and give them even the slightest hope of surviving.
First Look
Netflix and Legendary's first look at The Black came in the form of two images. One shows the inside of a Jaeger cockpit, and the other is a new Kaiju.
As you can tell from these pictures as well as Polygon Pictures' filmography, Pacific Rim: The Black will be produced with 3D CGI animation. This has caused a point of contention amongst many fans. Some fans and critics fear this will lead to unnatural animation and lifeless characters. However, many are still looking forward to the series.
The series' opening sequence was revealed during the live stream of the 2020 Netflix Anime Festival.
Release date
The anime series is set to be released next year in 2021.
Elie Dekel, Legendary Entertainment's executive vice president of brand development and consumer products, has stated: " [This is] one of the biggest budget anime series I've had the pleasure of working on, and I think that speaks to the commitment of Netflix and Legendary [to anime]." Dekel also revealed that Pacific Rim: The Black is confirmed to run for at least two seasons, but the number of episodes per season is still unknown.