Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Things are heating up on the Pacific Rim: John Boyega joins sci-fi sequel

By Parker Hall Published June 6, 2016

john boyega detroit riots movie comic con 2015 — Gage Skidmore/Flickr

Now that he’s established himself firmly as a rebel in one science fiction reality, actor John Boyega is headed to help front another. The up-and-coming Star Wars actor has been cast in the slowly developing Pacific Rim sequel, where he will play the son of Idris Elba’s character Stacker Pentecost.

The high-profile lead role could mean big things for the sequel, especially considering recent news that the screenplay will be crafted by Jurassic World co-writer Derek Connolly. Guillermo del Toro, who was responsible for creating the sci-fi universe in which the tale plays out, will remain involved as an executive producer for the project. And he, in particular, seems excited about securing the young Star Wars actor.

Recommended Videos

“I am very proud and happy to welcome John into a fantastic sandbox. The ‘Pacific Rim’ universe will be reinforced with him as a leading man as it continues to be a multicultural, multi-layered world,” del Toro said in a press release. “‘The World saving the world’ was our goal and I couldn’t think of a better man for the job.”

Please enable Javascript to view this content

The second Pacific Rim aims to be as lucrative as the first, which grossed $411 million worldwide after costing $190 million to manufacture. The second installment is being directed by Daredevil showrunner Steven DeKnight, and the new film will likely offer Boyega a bigger payday than The Force Awakens did, as he was a no-name actor at the time.

In furtherance of his emerging career, Boyega has remained very busy on sets of late. He is currently shooting Star Wars: Episode VIII, and has been scheduled to star in films opposite Tom Hanks and Emma Watson, as well as James McAvoy and Sir Ben Kingsley.

Pacific Rim 2 is scheduled to hit screens worldwide in 2017, though no official date is on the books yet.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Parker Hall is a writer and musician from Portland, OR. He is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin…

Audio / Video

Sonos Arc vs. Sonos Arc Ultra: Is the next-gen worth the splurge?

Sonos Arc Ultra.

The Sonos Arc has long stood as the flagship soundbar from the American networked audio giant. Upon its release in 2020, the Arc established itself as one of the most feature-rich products in its category. It was Sonos's first soundbar to support Dolby Atmos, which was a significant step forward at the time.

Four years later, the Sonos Arc Ultra was released, intended to take up the mantle of a premium flagship soundbar. The Arc Ultra represents the next generation for Sonos, features breakthrough technologies like "Sound Motion," and adds Bluetooth support for the first time in any Sonos soundbar.

Audio / Video

You Asked: What’s the most impressive thing you saw at CES?

You Asked CES Editors Cut

On today’s special edition of You Asked, we tracked down each of our editors and put them on the spot to find out what they thought was the most impressive thing they saw at CES 2025 in Early January. Let’s find out what they had to say.
Panasonic Z95B

There’s been some really cool TV tech at CES, but the thing I’m most excited about is the new Panasonic Z95B. Instead of the regular OLED display structure we’ve seen in recent years with MLA technology, this uses a four-layer panel structure. It features individual red, green, and blue layers (two of the latter) for the emissive light.

Audio / Video

Fiio brought its adorable KA15 DAC/amp to CES 2025 and now I want one

Fiio KA15 mobile headphone DAC/amp.

I admit it: Even though my job means I'm supposed to be laser-focused on sound quality, usability, value for money, and durability, every now and then, I see an audio product that I want to own simply because it looks awesome. That was my reaction at CES 2025 when I laid eyes on Fiio's KA15 -- a tiny mobile headphone DAC/amp that sells for $110 (though as of today's date, it's down to $90 on Amazon).

Specs-wise, this little all-aluminum, baby blue and silver gadget -- which also comes in a much more serious Midnight Black color -- covers everything you could want in a headphone DAC: support for PCM decoding up to 32-bit/768kHz, plus native DSD decoding up to DSD256, dual Cirrus Logic CS43198 DACs, a companion app and web interface that gives you access to a 10-band parametric equalizer, 4.4mm balanced and 3.5mm unbalanced headphone jacks, an ultra-low THD of 0.0004%, and up to 560 milliwatts of power per channel (when in desktop mode). Perfect for getting the most out of your lossless and hi-res audio sources via wired headphones or IEMs.