John Boyega Joins ‘Pacific Rim 2’
Star Wars: The Force Awakens star John Boyega to join the cast of ‘Pacific Rim 2’.
After taking on the First Order in the block buster smash hit Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Deadline is reporting that John Boyega will join filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro in the sequel to the 2013 Legendary Pictures ‘Pacific Rim’.
The first film centered around monsters that invade from another world and humanity has to defeat them before the Earth is obliterated. Not much is known about the plot of the sequel film, however, Boyega will reportedly be playing the son of Idris Elba’s character from the first film.
Director Steven S DeKnight, creator of the Starz series Spartacus, will be making his feature directorial debut. DeKnight has written and directed the Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Dollhouse, and Smallville television series. Thomas Tull, Mary Parent, Jon Jashni, and del Toro will produce the action adventure film.
Mary Parent, Legendary’s Vice Chairman of Worldwide Production had this to say about the young stars bright future.
“It is undeniable that with all his talent and natural charm, John stands out amongst today’s generation of young leading men,” said Parent.
The film, based on the world created by Guillermo del Toro and Travis Beacham, is said to hit theaters in 2017. Del Toro has also expressed a warm welcome to the young actor.
“I am very proud and happy to welcome John into a fantastic sandbox,” Del Toro said in a statement. “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.”
Boyega is currently shooting with Rian Johnson on Star Wars: Episode VIII, in which he reprises his role as the stormtrooper turned restistance fighter Finn. He confirmed his casting in ‘Pacific Rim 2’ earlier today on his Twitter page:
https://twitter.com/JohnBoyega/status/739861554997415940
The actor also tweeted that his company UpperRoom Productions will be co-producing with Legendary.
https://twitter.com/JohnBoyega/status/739865052996620288
Star Wars: Episode VIII will hit theatres December 2017.
Additional Source: Variety
I loved the premise and visuals of the first movie but the two leads were just so bad at their chosen profession of acting it was hard to watch. This should remedy that and make an enjoyable film. Charlie Day better come back though.
It took me a moment to work out which movie you were talking about!
I agree, there were many things to like about Pacific Rim, but the acting wasn’t one of them. Having said that, my acting is also atrocious – which is why I am not paid for it 🙂
I felt the worst for poor Idris Elba – he’s so, so much better than what he was given to work with in that movie.
C’mon, he’s a Star Wars actor. His career belongs with Star Wars now and only Star Wars. as he’s been typecasted now just like Carrie and Mark. Stop attempting to become an A-list actor John, it’s not going to happen! SW actors don’t have a good track record of reaching the top of the Oscar’s ladder, just ask Mark, Carrie and BLW. So yeah, you’re defined by SW only now John as your acting career belongs to SW only now.
It’s even worse, his character isn’t in the same league as Luke and Leia, he’s in Jar Jar Binks league and that will be very hard to recover from this stigma.
there is NO ONE worse than Jar Jar so fuck off!
Jar Jar Binks didn’t end the movie in a coma, and he wasn’t a coward, he was a general on the frontline against the droid army and at the end of the movie, he’s celebrating with everyone the victory. Finn is a failure from the first minute to the end.
Finn stood up to Kylo and failed, but you’re missing the point spectacularly. The point isn’t that he failed, it’s that he stopped running and stood up for something worth believing in.
No, the script writer decided that Finn will get his ass kicked by Kylo Ren so Rey can wake up angry and beat him up. It wasn’t designed to make him brave, it was designed to make him lose a fight again.
It’s cool that you have so much insight into the production!
It’s awesome that you had so much insight into the inner workings of the production! Congrats!
I know. You can try too, it’s not that hard.
Debating with this kid is like arguing with a child. Or a drunk. Or a brick wall. Go through and read his other posts. It’s a train wreck from start to finish.
https://imgflip.com/i/15mzd7
Yeah, but did Jar Jar fight a Sith Lord!
No because Jar Jar Binks was more intelligent than that, he knew ther would be no point in fighting Darth Maul for him. But Finn is stupid and got an opportunity to get humiliated again by Kylo Ren who was only toying with him before whipping his back and throwing him into coma.
Jar Jar didn’t even know about Maul, but did Jar Jar save a pilot, and risked his life to save Rey
Jar Jar helped the Qui-Gon and Obi-wan, he fought the battles. At no point in the movie did he just want to “run away”, you know, like Finn constantly reminded us
You understand the concept of a “character arc”, right? Like, you get that what Finn goes through in this movie is Storytelling 101?
,,he was a general on the frontline against the droid army”
And later he became a senator in the Galactic Senate.
Sometimes, I really wonder what kind of crack was Lucas smoking when he wrote those atrocious scripts…
I guess having full control on a project isnt as great as one would belive.
Having full control on a movie is better than having no control. Look at JJ Abrams, he had no vision, no story, his job was meeting Kathleen Kennedy ridiculous demands. Lucas could do whatever he wanted, he still accepted to reduce Jar Jar to nothing in the other episodes.
It was rather a big fck u to the audience. He put him into the Galactic Senate for no possible logical reason at all, just to annoy the audience as much as possible. It was probably Lucas’s revenge for not accepting his ,,brilliant” comic relief character.
Yes he put him in the senate for 2 seconds but Kathleen Kennedy gave him a film to direct.
Troll.
Fool.
What the HELL are you talking about?
Wow, that was advanced stupidity. Congrats!
You need to be forced to watch TPM on repeat until you either
1. Go insane.
2. Realize how terrible Jar Jar REALLY was.
Whichever one comes first.
I never said I liked Jar Jar Binks, I’m only saying that he was more dignified than Finn.
And you would be wrong in that regard.
Harrison Ford would beg to differ.
So would Natalie Portman.
Those SW actors are few and far in between. He’ll end up more like Mark and Carrie than Harrison and Natalie.
Not all is lost though; he’ll eventually be generating income via less-prestigious non-live-action acting work (or maybe not even acting work at all such as writing books) and/or con appearances.
At least he won’t end up a dick like you.
I have reported you for saying negative things about John 😉
It’s nice to meet clairvoyant people though.
Are you from the future Leslie? If not than STFU. Nobody has the right to tell someone they can or cannot do something. Star Wars was an independent film back then, the whole trilogy was, and now that Disney is making the films they are no longer independent films…they are massive and everyone and their mothers have seen the new film. This alone is reason enough for John, Daisy and anyone else from the film to expand their roles in films and branch out. You seem like such a shitty person
I left her out because she was slightly known at the time, but yes, also accurate.
John can do what he wants; don’t try to think ‘you’ know what’s best for him.
Stop pigeonholing him.
I must have ESP.
Try and tell that to Harrison Ford, Ewan MacGregor, Liam Nesson and Natalie Portman.
Okay but out of these 4 actors, only Harrison was introduced to the large public by SW, MacGregor, Nesson and Portman were already estabilished before they jumped on the PT wagon. Having said that, I see no reason why John wouldnt make it, he wsnt personally my favorite thing about TFA, but if he’s a capable actor, then sure, lets see more of him.
Ford’s about ready to retire, I think TFA was his last hurrah
MacGregor is still going strong right now. He’s probably the biggest star of the ones you listed.
I think people are getting tired of Neeson’s action films as of late judging by the box office receipts.
Portman’s career is pretty much done now. The last thing she did of merit this decade was winning the Oscar well over 6 years ago. Being dropped from Thor 3 isn’t going to help her any either.
Oscar worthy maybe not, but Attack the Block is all you need for proof that he has more to him than Hamill did.
Mark Hamill is the best joker though.
Alas, I’m one of the few who doesn’t think that.
In that case, this is my response:
https://youtu.be/lb8fWUUXeKM?t=3m3s
Wow, Super-Troll.
You’re being pretty cynical, MARSHA.
First let me say I liked the original. Not loved… but liked. This seems beneath Boyega. He’s a pretty talented guy. Maybe it’ll work out to everyone’s benefit…
Good for him.
Nice. Good to see John is getting in on other work than just Star Wars alone; I wish him luck. ^_^
congrats to john- the first film was an enjoyable flick. i’m sure he’ll bring some fun into the sequel.
Pitty Guillermo is not direction. This two individuals would have SO MUCH FAN on-set.
Congrats to John. It will be interesting to see what kind of roles Daisy Ridley picks up now. Hopefully she’ll have more luck than Mark Hamill did after the original trilogy.
She already turned down Tomb Raider. My guess is something a little more artsy that she could win a award with.
She didn’t turn it down. She just didn’t get it. Anyway, she was cast in a few projects – notably one with JJ Abrams – so she’ll be fine.
That was my recollection also. I googled and found this:
“According to The Hollywood Reporter’s sources, Vikander was always the
front-runner for the role, despite it being reported that Star Wars : The Force Awakens star Daisy Ridley was the first choice.”
It would have been interesting to see Daisy in Tomb Raider, although in all fairness I think Alicia Vikander is a far superior actress at this stage of their two careers.
Sweet! I love Del Toro; I loved Pacific Rim; I loved John Boyega in TFA.
https://www.youtube.com/v/lb8fWUUXeKM?start=183&end=193
Pacific Finn!!!
I hear they’re expanding on the unique visual style of the first film and just staging all the fights inside a locked room with the lights out this time.
Seems a risky move, taking on yet another big, loud, dumb franchise so soon. Hope he’s got some smaller, character pieces lined up as well.
Seriously? You’re calling Marvel dumb as well?!
Are you kidding? Of COURSE Marvel is a big, loud, dumb franchise. I’m just suggesting I hope he lines up some smaller films where he actually has to, you know, act, and you’re leaping in with angry douchebaggery. Settle down, Beavis.
You should settle down with your crankyness!
John Boyega is a gambler, he’s producing the movie.
Man, I’m glad this film escaped pre-dev hell! The last one was awesome!
Not.
Yes it was.
But hey, haters gonna hate. You can’t help yourself.
Its not hating. Its called critical analysis. PR was poorly written, poorly cast, poorly shot and poorly concieved. I went into the cinema wanting to like it. But its shit. Calling me a hater because I disagree with you is pathetic.
Dude, you’re a total hater. Accept it and get over it.
That’s not ‘hate’. It’s this new thing called ‘having taste’.
Yeah, with you, it’s kinda more like “I just want to troll people”. Having tastes.. lol…
Well if you want to resort to name calling to win an argument then fine. Cunt.
Oooh, I’m scared now… The C word right out of the gate. Like I said, you can’t resist..
Unfortunately all indications are that John Boyega’s character, Finn, will be downgraded to a secondary supporting role in Episode VIII. Let’s hope he can get leading roles in other franchises to compensate for that.
He can work that out though!
Where are you getting this idea from?
From the spoilers and set leaks.
They used Boyega as a red herring for the promo of TFA, he was supposed to be the new Jedi. That was supposed to create controversy and trigger racist reactions. Only to let people discover the big reveal that the new jedi was actually a white girl and Boyega was Jar Jar Finn. Now that everybody knows that ugly truth, they don’t need him anymore.
Jar Jar Finn? Is this really a thing?
Yuh, I was sure everyone would have went with “Jar Jar Abrams” as the thing. Seriously why haven’t more people thought of “Jar Jar Abrams”, it’s sitting right there in the name and no one’s thought of it?
Don’t worry, Jar Jar Abrams is a thing https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClOAFDBOeZL9I-O3bApZqoA
Doing some character-role association, Rey is the Luke of this trilogy in that she is the main character who is introduced later in the film, whose plot arc diverges away from the other characters to receive individual trials and growth.
That means Finn and Poe occupy the roles of Han and Leia; in that Poe is introduced in the first scene and holds a more official tie to the Resistance faction, and both Poe and Finn stay behind to do regular non-Jedi stuff.
So, in effect, TFA was ANH except Leia is Poe and Luke is Rey and Finn is Han Solo [plot-structurally speaking], only TFA ends lapping into the plot of TESB. My bet is that SW:8 will stay close to the outline of the second half of Empire Strikes Back. Luke/Rey is on Dagobah/Ahch-to getting Jedi-training from Yoda/Luke. Meanwhile, Han and Leia / Poe and Finn will go off and face some danger before landing on a “friendly” planet and inevitably get trapped (come on, Dubrovnik has “traitor-planet” written all over it), meanwhile Poe and Finn develop their romance when BB8 isn’t looking.
All in all: BOO HOO! Finn is the new Han Solo! :,(
is that right, is that what you’re complaining about?
Finn already felt like a secondary supporting character in TFA. He was mostly there to make Rey look good at his own expense. He was her bumbling comic relief sidekick. He was even given Luke’s lightsaber to hand to Rey.
The token black dude was a joke in that movie.
What indications?
Pacific Rim is to Del Toro what Avatar is to James Cameron. A cash cow that’s marked the end of their creative career.
EDIT: So he’s not directing but he’s probably producing or executive producing somewhere but same difference, He hasn’t made a half-way decent film since.
He’s making an animated kids show called Trollhunters for Netflix.
Haven’t heard of it till now but I’ll watch the trailer if one exists.
I don’t think the trailer’s been released yet. It’s a Dreamworks co-production & visually a bit like How To Tame Your Dragon.
I’ll keep an eye out then.
He’s directed one movie since then, and it was brilliant. So no, nothing you said was true.
Not at all, Both Pacific Rim and Crimson Peak stand at a pathetic 70 percent or so on RT. That’s lower than TPM and ROTS I believe not to mention they grossed far less money.
Money isn’t a measure of success, and neither is Rotten Tomatoes.
True but they still weren’t as well recieved by the general public as his earlier works nor awards-wise neither.
Pacific Rim is very popular with younger kids, and Crimson Peak has a large Internet following.
Yeah, but Pacific Rim is far more entertaining than Avatar will ever be. Heck, I preferred it to Rian’s Godzilla movie.
Pacific Rim is a film that realizes its stupidity and embraces it, as opposed to Transformers and Avatar that still try to act self-important. I like Pacific Rim because it’s an action film that knows what it is and does it with all the balls in existence. My only regret is that Del Toro isn’t returning as director for #2.
Rian’s Godzilla? You mean Edward’s?
Dammit! I keep mixing the two up. Which one’s movie do I hate again? Edwards. Yeah. Shit, this keeps happening…
Total entertainment experience! You know, apart from wooden, unappealing leads, nonsensical plotting, arbitrary rules of the universe, incomprehensible, mostly invisible fight scenes, and an utter waste of talent involved. I guess that leaves…Ron Perlman was predictably entertaining?
Well, like, that’s … your, um, OPINION.
Did I say otherwise? But luckily, my opinion is always objectively correct.
Only for until the next winter solstice. But come the solstice and where will your power be? No where. You shall be mortal soon… 😐
I gots NO idea what you’re talking about, but, brother, I dig your brand of crazy.
Interesting. Boyega’s opted for the Pacific Rim job.
Interesting. The new black guy in Pacific Rim replaces the old one, who also so happens to be his father. Reminds me a bit too much of those Lando rumors with Finn.
We are witnessing the creation of a movie star.
Hopefully.
He needs to hit some smaller films where he can show off some range though. Leaping from one big franchise to another with nothing else in between doesn’t usually work out too well for young actors. Boyega is a talented and appealing actor, but someone hopefully is telling him to build his brand a bit more. Doing stuff along the lines of Woyzcek, but on film where it’ll be seen and remembered by a larger audience.