The first trailer for Pacific Rim Uprising debuted at New York Comic Con. Guillermo del Toro directed and co-wrote the script with Travis Beacham for the first Pacific Rim film, which hit theaters in 2013. Starring Charlie Hunnam as Raleigh Becket, Pacific Rim told the story of pilots who operated massive robots called Jaegers, which were created to fight Kaiju monsters that periodically invaded Earth through an interdimensional portal located at the bottom of the ocean. Although Raleigh and his co-pilot Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi) helped close the breach, they lost many of the other pilots in battle, including Mako's adoptive father Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba).

Though Pacific Rim wasn't necessarily a massive critical or financial hit, it did inspire a devoted fan base that has been clamoring for a sequel since 2013. Legendary Pictures finally announced the sequel, but del Toro stepped down from the helm, leaving Steven S. DeKnight to direct Pacific Rim Uprising. The Pacific Rim sequel has a March 2018 release date, and in order to get fans hyped for the film's premiered, DeKnight debuted the first trailer during New York Comic Con at the Pacific Rim Uprising panel.

Related: Pacific Rim Uprising Posters: Scott Eastwood Rises Up

The Pacific Rim Uprising panel at New York Comic Con featured DeKnight, along with co-stars John Boyega, Scott Eastwood, Burn Gorman, and Cailee Spaeny. DeKnight and the stars unveiled the first trailer for the sequel during the panel and has since been released online. You can check it out above. Boyega stars in the film as Jake Pentecost - son of Elba's Stacker Pentecost - while Eastwood plays Nate Lambert and Spaeny portrays Amara Namani. Gorman reprises his Pacific Rim role as Dr. Hermann Gottlieb while Charlie Day will also return as Dr. Newt Geiszler and Kikuchi as Mako.

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Although del Toro didn't return to direct the sequel, he is credited with creating the story on which it's based, with the screenplay being written by DeKnight along with Emily Carmichael (Lumberjanes), Kira Snyder (The Handmaid's Tale), and T.S. Nowlin (The Maze Runner). According to its synopsis, Pacific Rim Uprising is set a decade after the Battle of the Breach - the climactic battle at the end of Pacific Rim - and the Jaeger program has been bolstered by that win to become the most powerful defense program in the world. As revealed in the first Pacific Rim Uprising teaser that debuted during Comic-Con International in San Diego this summer, the program has innovated new and improved Jaegers and encourages many in the world to "Join the Jaeger Uprising."

While it's unclear whether Pacific Rim Uprising will be more successful than its predecessor in terms of critic reviews and box office returns, especially with what appears to be a new look and feel thanks to DeKnight's work, fans of the first film are undoubtedly excited for the sequel. Given the cult fame of Pacific Rim, it remains to be seen if Uprising will be just as loved by the series' dedicated fans. But, with a Mach 2018 release date, fans won't have to wait too much longer to head back into the breach with Pacific Rim Uprising.

Next: Pacific Rim Uprising's 6 New Jaegers Detailed

Source: Legendary Pictures

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