John Boyega is moving from a galaxy far, far away to the Pacific Rim.
The “Star Wars” actor suits up for battle — in place of original star Charlie Hunnam — in a teaser video for “Pacific Rim: Uprising” that was released Thursday at San Diego Comic Con.
In the video, a woman’s mechanic voice says, “What is a Jaeger? 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 super power,” she continues, with words superimposed on slick images of machinery. “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.”
Then, a heavy music beat drops and a huge robotic Jaeger kicks into action. The video ends with Boyega in a suit: “Join the Jaeger uprising.” Badass.
The follow-up to Guillermo del Toro‘s 2013 sci-fi film stars returning actor Charlie Day as well as a bunch of newcomers including Boyega, Scott Eastwood, Rinko Kikuchi, Tian Jing and Daniel Feuerriegel.
The film is set in a dystopian future pitting underwater creatures called Kaiju against giant robots operated by dual human pilots called Jaegers.
Steven S. DeKnight, whose credits include “Spartacus” and “Daredevil,” takes over directing duties from Guillermo del Toro.
The 2013 original generated more than $411 million at the global box office. The $190 million production managed only $101 million domestically but pulled off a strong performance overseas — particularly in China.
Universal Pictures and Legendary will release the film on February 23, 2018.