{"id":13440,"date":"2014-06-30T06:50:05","date_gmt":"2014-06-30T13:50:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theculturednerd.com\/?p=13440"},"modified":"2014-06-30T06:50:05","modified_gmt":"2014-06-30T13:50:05","slug":"what-does-the-pacific-rim-franchise-have-in-store-for-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theculturednerd.org\/?p=13440","title":{"rendered":"What does the Pacific Rim Franchise have in store for us?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Now that we\u2019ve had time to collect ourselves after frenzied celebration following Guillermo del Toro\u2019s official announcement of Pacific Rim 2<\/a>, we\u2019ve become overwhelmed with curiosity about what the sequel and Animated Series will entail. Luckily for us, the writer\/director loves geeking out about his franchise as much as we do.
\nGuillermo del Toro seems to have a couple of different directions he wants to take the film, each one crazier than the last. In a recent interview<\/a> promoting his new FX series The Strain, del Toro promised to push the story forward rather than retread the 12 years of the first Kaiju War.<\/p>\n

“Some people were wondering if we were going to do the prequel. I was never interested in doing that first wave of invasion,\u201d del Toro said. \u201cI\u2019m going for very new, very crazy ideas on the second one, which are very different from the first one \u2014 but you will get really great spectacle.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

While it is exciting to hear the franchise is moving forward, it isn\u2019t entirely true. Moviegoers may not get to experience the full history of Pacific Rim, but the history will likely be covered in the promised continuation of the comic book series started in Pacific Rim: Tales from Year Zero.
\nIt\u2019s also unclear what the animated series will cover, as details are scarce at this time. We do have 12 years of history that is largely unexplored, and it would be fun to see the race to build the first Jaegers. It\u2019s also possible that Legendary will be taking a page from Marvel, and use the show to further the plot and expand the world of its film franchise, a la Agents of Shield. It\u2019s not hard to imagine a Power Rangers styled Freak-of-the-Week outing designed to sell toys. However, it seems more likely fans will get something more akin to the lauded anime series Evangelion, which offered inspiration for the summer blockbuster. Unfortunately, there isn\u2019t much information at this time.<\/p>\n

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As for the film, Del Toro has enthusiastically discussed what we can expect. In an interview, found here<\/a>, following the release of the 2013 film, the director discussed the return of fan favorite, Gipsy Danger. \u201cI\u2019ll tell you a couple of things. We will have Gipsy 2.0 for sure. Second thing is you\u2019re gonna see a merging of Kaiju and Jaeger. And that is quite special.\u201d Del Toro also stated<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve drifted with a Kaiju brain. Well, then start riffing on that and you\u2019ll get to something.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If we do start riffing on this, it sounds like we\u2019ll see a team up of human\/kaiju drifting to co-piloting Jaegers, giving the massive machines minds of their own. If this is the case, then the Kaiju hive mind could have a readymade army already on earth, and simply turn our own defenses against us.
\nFans will remember that the film\u2019s climactic battle ended with the original Jaeger destroyed in the Anteverse, a parallel dimension that spawns the Kaiju. Del Toro hints that this will play into the story of Pacific Rim 2. \u201cJust think about it for a second, we sent Gipsy to the other side, right? It exploded, but whatever remains stays there.\u201d Could this mean that the invaders will be the ones making the Kaiju\/Jaeger hybrids rather than humans?
\nAdditionally, Charlie Day, who played tatted up scientist Newt in the first film, dropped some additional information regarding the film. See the article here. <\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI remember when I first met with [Del Toro] that he liked the idea of Newt becoming a bit of a villain in the second film. But, I think over the course of making the film, and the way the character resonated with the audience, I don\u2019t think he would want to turn him into a villain now, but I really have no idea.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Newt, who drifted with Kaiju twice, has caught a glimpse of the creatures\u2019 hive mind. If Pacific Rim 2 does follow this original plan, it could be that sharing his brain with the Kaiju corrupted him somehow, making him an agent of the Kaiju. Guillermo del Toro has mentioned that the sequel will revolve around this drift.<\/p>\n