The Entertainment Factor: Pacific Rim 2: Movies, TV Shows, Music and Video Games

Thursday, June 9, 2016

John Boyega Set to Star in PACIFIC RIM 2

It's been a difficult journey so far for the follow-up to Guillermo del Toro's "Pacific Rim". I had a bad feeling about the project when I heard that del Toro wouldn't direct, and I still don't feel inspired by his replacement, Steven S. DeKnight, creator of the "Spartacus" series and showrunner of the "Daredevil" series' first season.

Personal ranting aside, the sequel titled "Pacific Rim: Maelstrom" is at least moving forward. The latest announcement is the casting of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" star John Boyega. He will be playing the son of Idris Elba's character, Stacker Pentecost, from the first film. There is no word regarding the return of the original's leads, Charlie Hunnam and Rinko Kikuchi.

Here is the official press release announcing Boyega's casting:

"Legendary Pictures has tapped John Boyega, one of today’s most talented rising stars, the lead role for the second installment of its PACIFIC RIM franchise. The film, which is targeting a 4th Quarter start date is rapidly taking shape as a key project on Legendary’s upcoming slate with Boyega playing the son of Idris Elba’s character from the original film.

The project will be directed by Steven S. DeKnight based on the world created by Guillermo del Toro and Travis Beacham. Thomas Tull, Mary Parent, Jon Jashni, and del Toro will produce the action adventure film along with Boyega and Femi Oguns under their Upper Room Productions shingle. Cale Boyter will serve as the film’s executive producer.

“It is undeniable that with all his talent and natural charm, John stands out amongst today’s generation of young leading men,” said Mary Parent, Legendary’s Vice Chairman of Worldwide Production.

“I am very proud and happy to welcome John into a fantastic sandbox. The Pacific Rim universe will be reinforced with him as a leading man as it continues to be a multicultural, multi-layered world. ‘The World saving the world’ was our goal and I couldn’t think of a better man for the job,” stated del Toro.

John Boyega’s previous credits include STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS and ATTACK THE BLOCK. His upcoming projects include STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII, THE CIRCLE opposite Tom Hanks and Emma Watson, IMPERIAL DREAMS, WATERSHIP DOWN alongside James McAvoy and Sir Ben Kingsley, and he will star on stage next year in WOYZECK at The Old Vic. He is represented by WME and Identity Agency Group in the UK and Hansen Jacobson.

The film will be distributed by Universal Pictures around the world with the exception of China."

Entertainment Factor

RELATED POSTS :

Monday, June 30, 2014

PACIFIC RIM 2 and STAR TREK 3 Updates

Two sci-fi sequels are moving forward and we have some new updates to talk about. First, we have a release date for "Pacific Rim 2" and some interesting details. The sequel to last year's robots versus monsters blockbuster was not exactly a sure thing. While the film grossed $411 million worldwide, it only managed to take in $101 million domestically, which isn't very impressive. But, the franchise has some decent potential, so Guillermo del Toro is now hard at work writing the sequel's script with Zak Penn ("X2"), and the finished product is expected to hit theaters on April 7, 2017, in IMAX 3D. The filmmaker also revealed that in the meantime we can look forward to an animated series that will extend the "Pacific Rim" universe. Also, it seems that the sequel will be released by Universal Studios, who have taken over distribution duties from Warner Bros.

As for "Star Trek 3", we have the first update regarding the plot and where the crew of the USS Enterprise is headed next in 2016. The film will be directed by franchise writer Roberto Orci, after J.J. Abrams left to work on "Star Wars: Episode VII", and here is what he had to say about the plot:

"In [Into Darkness] they set out finally where the original series started. The first two films – especially the 2009 [Star Trek] – was an origin story. It was about them coming together. So they weren’t the characters they were in the original series. They were growing into them and that continues on in the second movie. So in this movie they are closer than they are to the original series characters that you have ever seen. They have set off on their five-year mission. So their adventure is going to be in deep space."

RELATED POSTS :