As the press release heard around the world proclaimed, John Boyega has joined the cast of the next Pacific Rim. Of note, the press release does not contain the word “Maelstrom,” which was thought to be the sequel’s subtitle, so maybe that’s going to change. The Legendary sequel, a follow-up to Guillermo del Toro’s kinda-sorta successful “robots v monsters: dawn of nerdy” sci-fi spectacular, has yet to be slated but it is presumed that Universal/Comcast Corp. will distribute the film (in every market save China) sometime in late 2017.
And now the movie, which will be directed Steven S. DeKnight, has a viable name at the helm. Now this doesn’t mean that Charlie Hunnam won’t be back, nor is it a guarantee that Boyega’s character (the son of Idris Elba’s character) will be the de-facto lead. Heck, Walt Disney’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens marketing campaign arguably sold the idea that Boyega’s Finn would be the new hero only for the film itself to turn into Daisy Ridley’s arc.
But it does presume that the Attack the Block breakout will have a significant role in the upcoming sequel. Boyega is unquestionably a media-friendly star, we nerd reporters all love Attack the Block, and this inclusion will get the press on the film’s side heading into production. But will Boyega’s inclusion help the movie at the worldwide box office? That’s a trickier question, but I have to presume a qualified “yes.”
First of all, with all this talk about underperforming sequels, Pacific Rim 2 (or whatever it ends up being called) feels like a prime candidate for “second time ain’t the charm.” The first film, which was distributed by Warner Bros./Time Warner in the summer of 2013, earned $101.8 million domestic. With a $190m budget, the only reason we’re getting a sequel is that it earned $111.9m in China and thus $411m worldwide.
I have discussed before the inherent dangers of “Okay, but next time it’ll break out!” sequel-izing, especially when the original film wasn’t insanely leggy and hasn’t necessarily amassed a devoted following (beyond the initial converts), and this may be another casualty. But whether it helps a little or helps a lot, casting Boyega as (I hope) the new lead is a smart play.
It distinguishes the sequel from the countless other big-budget fantasy spectaculars that star somewhat generic “Oh, I kinda liked him in that one TV show” young white males with no real box office draw. All due respect, but that’s Charlie Hunnam (currently carrying the weight of Knights of the Round Table: King Arthur on his shoulders next year for Warner Bros.). The perception, at least regarding certain proverbial “powers that be,” is that a young (known or unknown) white guy is a safer bet globally than even a somewhat well-known actress or minority actor.
That may be true, but we don’t know because of how infrequently that thinking is put to the test. I have discussed in the past about how maybe Hollywood should try more big-budget vehicles with actors (and actresses) who aren’t young Caucasian males who are trying to be the next Channing Tatum. Will it help? Maybe, maybe not, but it’s not like casting Armie Hammer and Henry Cavill in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. turned that film into a smash. So if you want to start casting John Cho or Michelle Rodriguez as leads in somewhat risky big-budget movies, you have nowhere to go but up. And at the very least, you’re going to create a lot of excitement in certain demographic circles.
Geek-friendly audiences who aren’t white men are desperate for relative representation. If you saw the online excitement at every bit of Black Panther news (and a mere cameo from Florence Kasumba in Captain America: Civil War, it was both exciting and a little depressing. We all know what a big deal Rinko Kikuchi’s starring role in the firstPacific Rim mean to Japanese audiences, Asian fans, and just those of us who like more onscreen diversity.
For those who want to see themselves onscreen, it was a life raft in an otherwise barren ocean. A Pacific Rim 2 that stars John Boyega may or may not be an event to the world as a whole, but it’s going to be an event to audiences who look like John Boyega. And while an excited black film community may not single-handedly turn the movie into a hit, it will make at least one demographic a lot more excited to see the film, for pleasure and to “support” it, than they otherwise would be.
And for a dicey sequel like Pacific Rim 2, that’s not remotely nothing.
0 Comments