When John Boyega tackles the Kaiju in Pacific Rim: Uprising he has some pretty big shoes to fill. Not just because he is replacing Idris Elba as the lead actor in the franchise, but also because he is playing his son, too.
Unfortunately, the death of Elba’s General Stacker Pentecost in “Pacific Rim” means that we won’t actually get to him interact with Boyega’s Jake Pentecost in “Uprising.” That hasn’t stopped the two actors from exchanging niceties, though.
John Boyega admitted as much when I sat down to talk to the 25-year-old about “Pacific Rim: Uprising” at New York Comic Con earlier this month. During our exchange I asked Boyega, who is producing as well as acting in “Uprising,” whether Elba had reached out.
“Yeah, he sent me a message wishing me congratulations. He sent it to me and my producing partner Femi [Oguns], and it was much obliged.”
Elba didn’t have to put in too much effort to get into contact with Boyega, though, as the “Star Wars” star revealed that the duo actually share the same agent. This admission immediately inspired Boyega to dream up a future project for the pair, too.
“Also, we have the same agent. Me and Idris have the same agent. Idris when you are available we should do a duo detective series. Just going through London trying to solve all the nonsense.”
Now that’s something I’d watch. Boyega did quickly become serious, though, when he spoke about how good it felt to have the support of Elba, Guillermo del Toro and various other “Pacific Rim” cast and crew members ahead of the release of “Uprising.”
“It’s nice to know that those who were involved before have spoken about their excitement for [‘Pacific Rim: Uprising’],” Boyega added.
We’ll get to see if their excitement is justified when “Pacific Rim: Uprising” is finally released on March 23, 2018.
