The first and second Pacific Rim movies grossed $US411 ($537) million and $US291 ($380) million worldwide. Big numbers for sure, but not the kind of numbers that can sustain a massive franchise where each sequel, by its nature, has to get bigger. But the bones are there: the story is awesome, the world is fascinating, and the creatures and robots are undeniably cool. Where does a franchise go when it’s become too big for the big screen?
Anime.
Legendary and Netflix’s Pacific Rim: The Black is the continuation of the franchise co-created by Guillermo del Toro where evil Kaiju try to destroy the Earth but humanity meets them with massive robot warriors, called Jaegers, that require two humans to control. We already knew the show was coming to Netflix March 4 — and now, we’ve got the first trailer, where we meet Hayley and Taylor, two kids who commandeer an old Jaeger in an attempt to survive and find their missing parents. Check it out.
The Black is co-created by Craig Kyle (Thor: Ragnarok) and Greg Johnson (X-Men: Evolution) with animation by Polygon Pictures, best known for Netflix’s Levius and anime Godzilla movies. The first season consists of seven 30-minute episodes, which, as you can see in that trailer, promise lots of action and even some big surprises.
Here’s the first teaser poster as well.