John Boyega has long since proved he knows something about battling odd creatures, be it in Attack The Block or a little film he appeared in last year called Star Wars: The Force Awakens. So he's got the credentials to fight Kaiju in the Pacific Rim sequel, and producer Guillermo del Toro has picked him to play the son of Idris Elba's Stacker Pentecost.
Yes, though we don't yet know what memorable monicker he will be sporting – Cashier Pentecost, keeping up the supermarket theme? – he'll be the new movie's leading man, under the direction of Steven S. DeKnight, who was selected by del Toro when he opted not to return to the big chair.
"I am very proud and happy to welcome John into a fantastic sandbox," says del Toro. "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."
Occasionally known as Pacific Rim: Maelstrom (though that's potentially just a working title,), nothing much has been revealed about the film's plot, aside from the fact that we can expect more monster-bashing and perhaps a deeper exploration of the creatures' realm. Several writers including Jon Spaihts, Zak Penn and Derek Connolly have been at work on this one, and DeKnight should be rolling his cameras later this year.
Boyega is part of the cast for tech thriller The Circle, and has been back at work as Finn on Star Wars: Episode VIII, which Rian Johnson is guiding towards a December 2017 berth.