Pacific Rim sequel is happening with a new leading man

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Pacific Rim 2 has died and risen more than a phoenix but, on Monday, director Guillermo del Toro dropped a bombshell. Not only is the movie happening, but superstar John Boyega, who starred as Finn in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, will play the lead. And get this: He’ll play the son of Stacker Pentecost, who was played by Idris Elba.

Here’s what del Toro had to say about the news in a press release:

I am very proud and happy to welcome John into the 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.

What’s unclear is whether or not the film will pick up after the first one or if we’ll jump even further into the future; we also don’t know if any of the other cast members, including Charlie Hunnam and Rinki Kikuchi, are going to return. With Boyega grabbing leading-man status, it sounds like they want to move into a different direction.

The movie will be directed by Stephen S. DeKnight, with del Toro producing.