Universal Pictures has revealed IMAX posters forPacific Rim Uprising, which offer colorful looks at three of the new Jaegers who will be squaring off against the Kaiju monsters. These Jaegers are Bracer Phoenix, which brandishes a “centrifugal vortex cannon,” Guardian Bravo, seen with its unique weapon known as the Elec-16 Arc Whip, andGypsy Avenger, a new and improved version of Gypsy Danger from the originalPacific Rimmovie. These one-sheets will be on display during IMAX screenings ofPacific Rim Uprisingwhen it hits theaters next month.
These posters come just a day after the newmaking-of bookwas announced for the sequel, entitledThe Art and Making Of Pacific Rim Uprising. The book will feature never-before-seen concept art along with behind-the-scenes images and insight from the creative team. The book will also chart the entire process of realizing director Steven S. DeKnight’s vision and bringing it to the big screen. The book will go on sale March 20, just three days beforePacific Rim Uprisinghits theaters nationwide. While we’ll have to wait until that weekend to see how this action-packed sequel will fare, early projections aren’t too great.
Early box office projections for the sequel have put itsopening weekendat just $20 million, with a $49 million domestic gross throughout its theatrical run. Those numbers represent about half the opening weekend and domestic total take forPacific Rim, which opened to $37.2 million domestic en route to $101.8 million total in the U.S. Still, even if the sequel doesn’t have a strong domestic showing, the international box office tally could very well make up for those shortcomings. The originalPacific Rimearned an impressive $309.2 million from international markets, $111.9 million of which came solely from China.
Part ofPacific Rim Uprisingwas actually shot in China, with thefinal set photoshared by John Boyega last March coming from the set in Qingdao. As of now, a Chinese release date has not been set forPacific Rim Uprising, but given that part of the movie was shot in the Middle Kingdom, and considering the first movie’s success there, the sequel will certainly have a Chinese release, although it remains unclear when that release date will be announced. We also recently learned that Legendary may have plans for several otherPacific Rimmovies, but they may be dependant on how this movie fares at the box office.
Back in October, director Steven S. DeKnight teased that Legendary is planning acinematic universeforPacific Rim, hinting that this movie would serve as a “launching pad” for more comics, movies, spin-offs and much more. It isn’t clear if Steven S. DeKnight, orPacific Rim Uprisingwriters T.S. Nowlin, Kira Snyder or Emily Carmichael will be involved in these plans for aPacific Rimcinematic universe. While we wait for more details, take a look at these new posters, courtesy ofEmpire.
