A new trailer has arrived for Pacific Rim Uprising, Legendary and Universal's upcoming sequel starring John Boyega as Jake Pentecost. A couple things are startlingly clear from this new video: Gone are the weighty, ponderous, and practical creations of Guillermo del Toro's imagination in the original film, replaced by much more dynamic, colorful, and improbably nimble Jaegers. Also absent is the sense of doom and gloom, the impending annihilation that was present in the first film and embodied in the slow, methodical movements of that generation's best hope for humanity. This is a new generation of pilots, Jaegers, and Kaiju, for better or worse.

I'm up for another Pacific Rim adventure, even if Steven S. DeKnight's tale looks more like a Transformers spin-off than a practical exploration of military mecha. It's a popcorn movie, for sure. Boyega has to shoulder this one, so we'll see if he can anchor the emotional baggage carried over from the first film while also playing fast and loose with the action and his character's manufactured inspiration in the sequel.

Also starring Scott Eastwood, Tian Jing, Charlie Day, Adria Arjona, Burn Gorman, and Rinko Kikuchi, Pacific Rim Uprising arrives in theaters on March 23, 2018. You can check out the new trailer here:

Here's the official synopsis for Pacific Rim Uprising:

The globe-spanning conflict between otherworldly monsters of mass destruction and the human-piloted super-machines built to vanquish them was only a prelude to the all-out assault on humanity in Pacific Rim Uprising.

 

John Boyega (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) stars as the rebellious Jake Pentecost, a once-promising Jaeger pilot whose legendary father gave his life to secure humanity’s victory against the monstrous “Kaiju.” Jake has since abandoned his training only to become caught up in a criminal underworld. But when an even more unstoppable threat is unleashed to tear through our cities and bring the world to its knees, he is given one last chance to live up to his father’s legacy by his estranged sister, Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi)—who is leading a brave new generation of pilots that have grown up in the shadow of war. As they seek justice for the fallen, their only hope is to unite together in a global uprising against the forces of extinction.

 

Jake is joined by gifted rival pilot Lambert (The Fate of the Furious’ Scott Eastwood) and 15-year-old Jaeger hacker Amara (newcomer Cailee Spaeny), as the heroes of the PPDC become the only family he has left. Rising up to become the most powerful defense force to ever walk the earth, they will set course for a spectacular all-new adventure on a towering scale.

For more of our coverage on Pacific Rim Uprising, be sure to get caught up with these recent write-ups:

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Image via Universal Pictures