John Boyega Wants YOU to Join the Jaeger Army in Pacific Rim Uprising Teaser

The first teaser for Legendary’s long-in-development Pacific Rim sequel, Pacific Rim Uprising, has dropped in the form of a Jaeger Uprising Recruitment Video. “What is a jaeger?” it asks. “A jaeger is the pinnacle of human invention. When the monsters came, we did not wait for heroes to fall from the sky and save us. We saved ourselves. Innovation is our superpower. What is a jaeger? It’s you, times a thousand, tall as a mountain, with a beating heart that burns as bright as the sun!”

Whereas the first movie’s advertising leaned hard on the kaiju element, this trailer feels much more like a mech-movie than a monster-movie. From the modulating robot voice that narrates to its more digitally rendered look, Uprising is (at least for now) pitching itself as less of a sci-fi-fantasy fight movie, and more of a straight military sci-fi story.

(It’s also possible that they just wanted to get this out for San Diego Comic-Con, and the monsters are still being worked on by the special effects department.)

I’m also curious about the lack of drift in this trailer. It seems to suggest that the jaegers in this film will be individually piloted, rather than controlled by a team like they were in the first Pacific Rim. And honestly? I like the loner premise a lot less. While the dual-pilot system was admittedly a little ludicrous from the “Could this really be a practical military design?” perspective, it made for great character moments and team-building. Dramatically, it set us up for the characters to learn from each other, and it created a more realistic portrayal of the international, collaborative teamwork that would actually lead to success should humanity face an extinction-level threat. Plus, it helped to differentiate Pacific Rim‘s brand of mech.

All that said, John Boyega was a pitch-perfect choice for the son of Stacker Pentecost, and we are all blessed to have him.

I was pleasantly surprised when a Pacific Rim sequel was greenlit, but I’m not sure how to feel about this Jaeger Uprising Recruitment Video. It doesn’t look like director Steven S. DeKnight will bring the same lived-in nonsense-weirdness to this world that del Toro did, and that’d be a loss. This feels more like something we’ve seen before.

How are you feeling, though?

(Via Twitter; image via screengrab)

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