The Pacific Rim sequel is slowly clanking through pre-production like a giant Jaeger stomping through a stormy ocean. John Boyega and Scott Eastwood are both aboard and now actress Cailee Spaeny will join them as the movie's female lead.
Steven S. DeKnight is directing this one, stepping in for Guillermo del Toro, who will produce so he can concentrate on other projects. The film, often known as Pacific Rim: Maelstrom, is still largely wrapped in secrecy, though you can expect more of the massive robots vs. hulking Kaiju conflict we all enjoyed last time around. We don't yet know what either Eastwood or Spaeny will be playing in the movie, though Boyega (who is also a producer on the film) is the son of the late Stacker Pentecost (as portrayed by Idris Elba in the original).
It remains to be seen whether this second trip to the Rim can improve on the original's faltering US box office, which was boosted by solid returns in China and went on to gross more than $410 million worldwide. The cameras will be rolling in Australia and China this November and it'll be out in the States and here on February 23, 2018.
Spaeny, who is also a singer, has a couple of small indie movies on her CV so far, including Counting To 1000 and The Shoes.