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Pacific Rim (franchise)

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Pacific Rim
Official franchise logo
Created byGuillermo del Toro
Travis Beacham
Original workPacific Rim (2013)
OwnersWarner Bros. Pictures
Legendary Pictures
(Universal Pictures)
Years2013–2022
Films and television
Film(s)
Television seriesPacific Rim: The Black (2021–2022)
Games
Video game(s)Pacific Rim (2013)
Audio
Soundtrack(s)

Pacific Rim (Spanish: Titanes del Pacífico) is a Mexican-American franchise that consists of Kaiju-monster installments; including two theatrical films: Pacific Rim (2013) and Pacific Rim Uprising (2018), and an animated television series: Pacific Rim: The Black (2021–2022). The overall plot centers around a future where giant Kaiju monsters arise from an interdimensional portal at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, and the military response to their attacks. Based on an original story written by Travis Beacham, the franchise expands on his original fictional future by exploring humanity's actions for survival. The franchise was created by Mexican film director Guillermo del Toro.

The original film was met with positive critical and financial reception.[1][2] The second film was met with mixed critical reception, though it still made a profit at the box office.[3][4] The franchise expanded with the release of an animated television series which lasted for two seasons, and released exclusively on Netflix. The show was well received by critics and its viewers.[5]

The franchise will continue with a prequel television series in development.[6]

Films

[edit]
Film U.S.
release date 		Director Screenwriters Story by Producers
Pacific Rim July 12, 2013 (2013-07-12) Guillermo del Toro Travis Beacham & Guillermo del Toro Travis Beacham Guillermo del Toro, Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni and Mary Parent
Pacific Rim Uprising March 23, 2018 (2018-03-23) Steven S. DeKnight Steven S. DeKnight,
Emily Carmichael & Kira Snyder
and T.S. Nowlin 		Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Guillermo del Toro, John Boyega, Femi Oguns, Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni

Pacific Rim (2013)

[edit]
Main article: Pacific Rim (film)

In 2013, legions of monstrous creatures from another universe known as Kaiju rise from the seas, when a wormhole to another dimension labelled as "The Breach" opened at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. As the human race fought their advances, the races of the planet form a resistance and become involved in an all-out war. To thwart the monsters' advances, mankind built giant robots named Jaegers, equipped with the technology and weaponry to fight back. Controlled by two pilots linked together via a neural connection to the machines, the human forces have attempted to regain control of the planet called the Pan Pacific Defense Corps. Under the direction of a Jaeger pilot-turned Lead of the combined military named Marshal Stacker Pentecost, the Earth's civilizations withhold complete extinction.

In 2020, years after their initial attack, brothers Yancy and Raleigh Beckett co-pilot a Jaeger to defend Anchorage Alaska from the attack of a powerful Kaiju codenamed "Knifehead". During the battle the creature kills Yancy, while Raleigh takes sole control of the machine and ultimately defeats the monster. Traumatized from the experience and saddened at the passing of his older brother, Raleigh quits the Jaeger program. Now in 2025, humanity is on the verge of defeat. In one last stand against the Kaiju, the future of the human race rests in the hands of Raleigh, and an untested trainee named Mako Mori, who must work together after being recruited by Pentecost to pilot an older model Jaeger of a bygone era. Together, the pair must overcome their differences, in a combined effort to close "The Breach" and stop the advances to save the planet.[7][8][9]

Pacific Rim Uprising (2018)

[edit]
Main article: Pacific Rim Uprising

In 2035, ten years after the Battle of the Breach successfully closed the portal at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean through which an alien race called the Precursors sent beasts from another dimension to conquer the planet, Jake Pentecost makes a career out of stealing and selling parts of the old Jaeger machines on the Black Market. The once-promising pilot, whose heroic father gave his life to secure the victory against the gigantic Kaiju, abandoned his training only to become involved in the criminal underworld. Despite his efforts to turn away from his upbringing, Pentecost soon finds that he is pulled back into his military position when a new and unstoppable threat begins to rip through cities. With civilization again threatened on the brink of complete obliteration, he seeks to mend broken relationships and reunites with his adoptive sister Mako Mori. Together with the combined forces of the human race, Jake must rise to the occasion and live up to his legendary father's legacy.[10][11][12]

Future

[edit]

In October 2017, DeKnight stated that the plot to a third movie had been written, though its development is dependent on the critical and financial success of Pacific Rim Uprising. The filmmaker stated that plans include expanding the fictional universe into sequels and spin-offs directly tied to previous installments, as well as standalone releases as well; comparing plans to those made in the Star Wars and Star Trek franchises.[13] DeKnight later talked about studio interest in having the franchise crossover with the MonsterVerse.[14]

In August 2024, DeKnight revealed that the story he had written for a third movie included the inclusion of further exploration of the various dimensions through which the kaiju originate, which would have been explored through a plot involving a multiverse. The filmmaker explained that humans would have discovered that the intergalactic monsters were manipulated by the alien Precursor race; while the humans would have joined forces to help free the creatures. Though the script was not moving forward at the studio, it had been written to include the main characters crossing over into the Monsterverse by the end of the movie. DeKnight acknoweldged that aspects of the story may be repurposed in a potential future installment, while he expressed interest in seeing Guillermo del Toro return to the franchise as director of the third film.[15]

Television

[edit]
Main article: Pacific Rim: The Black
Series overview
SeriesSeasonEpisodesOriginally releasedNetworkShowrunnersWritersExecutive producers
Pacific Rim: The Black17March 4, 2021 (2021-03-04)NetflixGreg Johnson & Craig KyleGreg Johnson, Craig Kyle, Paul Giacoppo, Nicole DubucShuzo John Shiota, Greg Johnson, Craig Kyle
27April 19, 2022 (2022-04-19)

Pacific Rim: The Black (2021-2022)

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In November 2018, an anime-styled animated sequel series was announced to be in development. Craig Kyle and Greg Johnson serve as co-creators and co-showrunners. The plot follows the events of Uprising, and centers around a perfectionist teenage boy and his naïve younger sister, who together pilot an abandoned Jaeger to desperately cross the dangerous landscape inhabited by Kaiju monsters, in an attempt to find their missing parents. The project is a joint-venture production between Legendary Entertainment, Legendary Television, and Polygon Pictures, and released as a Netflix Original Series. The series is distributed via streaming exclusively on Netflix. The series was ordered for two seasons.[16][17]

The Black culminated with a second and final season, released in April 2022.[18]

Untitled prequel series

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In August 2024, it was announced that a live-action prequel television series was in development. The plot will explore the origins of the events which launched the franchise in the 2013 original movie. Eric Heisserer will serve as creator, showrunner, writer and executive producer for the series, which will be a joint-venture production between Lionsgate Television, and Chronology Entertainment.[6]

Main cast and characters

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List indicators

This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in more than two films in the series.

  • An empty grey cell indicates the character was not in the film, or that the character's official presence has not yet been confirmed.
  •  A indicates an appearance through archival footage or audio.
  •  P indicates an appearance in onscreen photographs.
  •  V indicates a voice-only role.
  •  Y indicates a younger version of the character.
Character Films Television series
Pacific Rim Pacific Rim
Uprising 		Pacific Rim:
The Black
Season 1 Season 2
2013 2018 2021 2022
Raleigh Becket Charlie Hunnam
Paul Michael WyersY 		CGI
Mar. Stacker Pentecost Idris Elba Idris ElbaAP
Mako Mori Rinko Kikuchi
Mana AshidaY 		Rinko Kikuchi
Dr. Newton "Newt" Geiszler Charlie Day
Trek BuccinoY 		Charlie Day
Dr. Hermann Gottlieb Burn Gorman
Drew AdkinsY 		Burn Gorman
Hercules "Herc" Hansen Max Martini Max MartiniVA
Hannibal Chau Ron Perlman
Chuck Hansen Robert Kazinsky
Tendo Choi Clifton Collins Jr.
Yancy Becket Diego Klattenhoff
Tyler StevensonY
The Precursors CGI Charlie Day
Jake Pentecost John Boyega
Nathan "Nate" Lambert Scott Eastwood
Liwen Shao Jing Tian
Amara Namani Cailee Spaeny
Madeleine McGrawY
Jules Reyes Adria Arjona
Marshal Quan Chenglei Max Zhang
Ou-Yang Jinhai Wesley Wong
Viktoriya Malikova Ivanna Sakhno
Ryoichi Hatayama Mackenyu
Taylor Travis Calum WorthyV
Yusuke KobayashiV
Cole KeriazakosYV 		Calum WorthyV
Yusuke KobayashiV
Hayley Travis Gideon AdlonV
Yui ShimodayaV
Camryn JonesYV 		Gideon AdlonV
Yui ShimodayaV
Loa Erica LindbeckV
The Kaiju Boy Ben DiskinV
Mei Victoria GraceV
Shane Andy McPheeV
The Bunyip Man Rhys DarbyV

Additional crew and production details

[edit]
Title Crew/Detail
Composer Cinematographer Editors Production
companies 		Distributing
company 		Running time
Pacific Rim Ramin Djawadi Guillermo Navarro John Gilroy & Peter Amundson Legendary Pictures,
Double Dare You Productions 		Warner Bros. Pictures 2 hrs 12 mins
Pacific Rim Uprising Lorne Balfe Dan Mindel Zach Staenberg, Dylan Highsmith & Josh Schaeffer Legendary Pictures,
Double Dare You Productions,
UpperRoom Productions 		Universal Pictures 1 hr 51 mins
Pacific Rim:
The Black 		Brandon Campbell — Kazunari Hoshino, Hideaki Kashima, Lindsey Myers, Daisuke Tsukioka, Adam Redding, Hiroaki Sasa, and Yukari Toneya Legendary Television Studios,
Polygon Pictures, Netflix Original Series 		Netflix 7 hrs
(30 minute episodes)

Reception

[edit]
For more details on the reception of each film, see the "Reception" section on each film's article.

Box office and financial performance

[edit]
Film Box office gross Box office ranking Home video
sales gross 		Worldwide total
gross income 		Budget Worldwide total
net income 		Ref.
North America Other territories Worldwide All-time
North America 		All-time
worldwide 		North America
Pacific Rim $101,802,906 $309,200,000 $411,002,906 #735 #240 $59,184,081 $470,186,987 $190,000,000 $280,186,987 [2][19]
Pacific Rim Uprising $59,874,525 $231,055,623 $290,930,148 #1,445 #372 $16,549,413 $307,479,561 $155,000,000 $152,479,561 [4][20]
Totals $161,677,431 $540,255,623 $701,933,054 x̄ #1,090 x̄ #306 $75,733,494 $777,666,548 $345,000,000 $432,666,548

Critical and public response

[edit]
Critical and public response to Pacific Rim
Title Critical Public
Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic CinemaScore
Pacific Rim 72% (295 reviews)[1] 65 (48 reviews)[21] A−[22]
Pacific Rim Uprising 42% (264 reviews)[3] 44 (45 reviews)[23] B[24]
Pacific Rim: The Black: Season 1 71% (14 reviews)[5] — —

References

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  1. ^ a b "Pacific Rim". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Pacific Rim (2013) – Financial Information". The Numbers. Archived from the original on February 13, 2023. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Pacific Rim Uprising". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Pacific Rim Uprising (2018) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Archived from the original on February 13, 2023. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Pacific Rim: The Black: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Otterson, Joe (August 19, 2024). "'Pacific Rim' Prequel Series in Development at Legendary Entertainment Under First-Look TV Deal With Eric Heisserer (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  7. ^ Change, Justin (July 7, 2013). "Film Review: 'Pacific Rim'". Variety. Archived from the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  8. ^ McCarthy, Todd (July 7, 2013). "Pacific Rim: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 15, 2023. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  9. ^ Nathan, Ian (October 5, 2011). "Pacific Rim Review". Empire. Archived from the original on August 25, 2022. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  10. ^ Shager, Nick (March 20, 2018). "Film Review: 'Pacific Rim Uprising'". Variety. Archived from the original on December 21, 2022. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  11. ^ Scheck, Frank (March 20, 2018). "'Pacific Rim Uprising': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 3, 2023. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  12. ^ Han, Karen (March 23, 2018). "'Pacific Rim Uprising' Review: At First It's Dull, And Then It's Kind Of Amazing". Slash Film. Archived from the original on February 3, 2023. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  13. ^ Pearson, Ben (October 9, 2017). "Expanded 'Pacific Rim' Universe May Be Coming Soon, Says 'Uprising' Director". Slash Film. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  14. ^ Chitwood, Adam (October 20, 2017). "Exclusive: 'Pacific Rim Uprising' Director Says Crossover with 'Godzilla' and 'King Kong' Is Possible". Collider. Complex Media. Archived from the original on February 16, 2023. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  15. ^ Weiss, Josh (July 12, 2024). "Pacific Rim Uprising Director Reveals Scrapped Multiverse Plan for Unmade Third Film (Exclusive)". SyFy. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  16. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (November 7, 2018). "Netflix Unveils 'Pacific Rim', 'Altered Carbon' & More In New Lineup Of Anime Originals". Deadline. Archived from the original on December 19, 2022. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  17. ^ Purslow, Matt (July 4, 2019). "Netflix's Pacific Rim Anime Is Coming in 2020, Confirmed for Two Seasons". IGN. Archived from the original on February 13, 2023. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  18. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (March 23, 2022). "'Pacific Rim: The Black' To End With Season 2 On Netflix, Premiere Date Set". Deadline. Archived from the original on February 13, 2023. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  19. ^ "Pacific Rim". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on February 13, 2023. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  20. ^ "Pacific Rim Uprising". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on February 2, 2023. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  21. ^ "Pacific Rim". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  22. ^ McClintock, Pamela (July 13, 2013). "Box Office Report: 'Pacific Rim' Lags; 'Grown Ups 2' and 'Despicable Me 2' Vie for No. 1". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2023. Mirroring strong reviews, Pacific Rim received an A- CinemaScore.
  23. ^ "Pacific Rim Uprising". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  24. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 25, 2018). "Does 'Pacific Rim Uprising' Break Even At The Global B.O.?; 'Black Panther' Sets Marvel Record – Sunday Postmortem". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 18, 2022. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
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