Greg Johnson Interview - Pacific Rim: The Black Season 2

Pacific Rim: The Black season 2 concludes the original animated series created by Greg Johnson, which is set in the Pacific Rim universe. The anime series began streaming on Netflix in 2021 and introduced viewers to a new story that builds off the events of Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim movie and its 2018 sequel, Pacific Rim: Uprising.

The animated series follows siblings Hayley and Taylor Travis as they explore the remains of Australia to find their parents, allowing it to feature more Kaiju and Jaeger action. Pacific Rim: The Black season 2 continues the expansion of the Pacific Rim mythology, and Hayley and Taylor's story in the final season sees them continue their search for their parents. They also deal with the rising threat of The Sisters as they attempt to capture the mysterious 'bOy,' who they believe to be the Kaiju Messiah.

In anticipation of Pacific Rim: The Black season 2's release on Netflix, Screen Rant had the opportunity to speak to series creator Greg Johnson about the making of the series, how it fits into the Pacific Rim timeline, and what the franchise's future could look like.

Screen Rant: The bOy is a unique being in the Pacific Rim franchise. What was it like creating his origin and exploring the limits of his powers?

Greg Johnson: When Craig Kyle and I first started talking about adding a character that was half human / half kaiju, we had to ensure it made sense in the world of Pacific Rim. We talked about how the Precursors were genetic architects. How they created Kaiju as brawlers to rise up and come in swinging. The Precursors are highly intelligent, obviously. And they would learn from their mistakes. A frontal assault doesn’t always win the day, particularly when your opponent builds machines that can match your army blow for blow. So, is it plausible they would consider a more surreptitious attack? Something that could hide in plain sight amongst the enemy?

We felt the answer was yes. They would definitely up their game. Creating a new Kaiju that looks “human” but could transform into a monster felt like an honest addition to their arsenal. Sort of a Sleeper Agent awaiting the signal.

Screen Rant: Can you talk about the inspiration behind The Sisters and bringing a different type of villain group to the franchise?

Greg Johnson: The Sisters make a quick appearance in Pacific Rim: Uprising; just enough to hint that there’s obviously a lot going on that we don’t get to see. The story potential was hard to ignore. You see a little more of them in the Pacific Rim graphic novels. So, we wondered what the Sisters would do in The Black, where the “angels of the gods” that they praised had actually won. They’d be more proactive in this environment, doing everything they could to help the Precursors complete the cleansing of our world.

The Sisters don’t fight in a way that a Jaeger can defeat. They wage an entirely unique war, one that defeats the mind. By controlling that, our soldiers become their soldiers.

Screen Rant: With the Kaiju Messiah, this series changes quite a bit of Pacific Rim lore. Was that always the idea, and was there any pushback on that?

Greg Johnson: I believe the lore stays intact; we just open it up a bit in places. Is bOy really a Kaiju Messiah, or is that just what the Sisters believe? Perhaps they’re merely mimicking Christianity, where their Savior is the son of God. So, they’ve been looking for the son of THEIR gods, and when they see bOy transform, they know he must be who they’ve been waiting for. Or bOy really is some sort of Messiah sent to lead the Sisters, which I still believe is within the realm of what the Precursors would do.

The theory had to hold water, regardless, so we made the case for it in our pitch to Legendary, laying out the two prior strategies that the Precursors used in their attacks. Start with city-smashing monsters [in the first movie]. When that fails because of the Jaegers, find a way to take over those Jaegers [in the second movie]. They clearly adjusted their strategy.

In a third attempt to take over Earth, what would they change? Our pitch is that they would overwhelm one landmass until they conquered it, and then spread out from there. This time, though, there’d be a failsafe option if they met with failure again. They’d plant Kaiju to walk amongst us in the guise of humans. Legendary was fully supportive of this approach.

Screen Rant: Was there ever any discussion about Hayley and Taylor's parents playing bigger roles in season 1? Did you ever consider having them be related to an established character?

Greg Johnson: Our hope for season 1 was always to set up the fate of the parents as a mystery. And then keep the point-of-view with Taylor and Hayley as they try to solve that mystery. Showing Ford and Brina’s struggles to get to Sydney, I think, would have stalled the momentum too much; giving viewers a glimpse into what’s out there before our two young protagonists get to experience it.

It was important to us that this series show how the Kaiju invasion impacted more than just the characters from the films. If we established a relationship to someone previously introduced, it would likely have an influence on our story. How would Raleigh Becket behave if he knew he had cousins trapped in Australia? It would be hard not to explore that. As it turned out, it was nice to have the freedom to introduce an entirely new set of characters in a totally new situation.

That said, the character that made the most sense for us to include was Herc Hansen, given that he’s Australian. So, we did. By not only having Taylor “Ghost Drift” with his recorded piloting memories, but also featuring him in the graphic novel “Pacific Rim: Blackout” that acts as a prequel to our series.

Screen Rant: Where does The Black fit in Pacific Rim's timeline, and did anything have to change due to movie plans?

Greg Johnson: Since both films had wonderful world-building elements to include in a series, we opted to place the series about ten years past the events in Uprising. That allowed us to create Apex, a surviving “Drone” from that story. We also chose to place the series in a lopped-off part of the world [Australia], so that the events wouldn’t need to impact any additional movies unless desired.

Screen Rant: What does Pacific Rim's future look like in your eyes? Does the franchise end here, or is there more to explore?

Greg Johnson: I’d like to think that we’ve shown how the Pacific Rim Universe can support more story-telling opportunities than just what’s presented in the source material. Those are huge events needed for a cinematic experience. Series such as The Black can feature very different kinds of experiences, ones that may not necessarily require massive stakes.