Even though the general consensus on Pacific Rim is positive, I couldn't help but feel that the film's desperation to be fun had consequences. Consequences such as some eccentric to the point of stupid characters, bad acting, and rough dialogue. Then again, I entered theaters with incredibly high expectations, and none of my expectations were matched. Save maybe for the cool creature design. But none of that matters, as the sci-fi actioner was still a box office gem for Warner Bros. The film made back $411 million on a budget of $180 million. And what do studios do with original concepts that score at the box office? You guessed it--sequel. Or spin-off. Or remake. Whatever. At least we can confirm that Guillermo del Toro already had a sequel in mind if the greenlight was ever given.
Cailee Spaeny Joins John Boyega for Pacific Rim 2
But did Guillermo plan on losing all of his characters? I'm a big fan of Charlie Hunnam and am looking forward to his upcoming King Arthur movie, but he was pretty terrible in Pacific Rim. So it comes as no surprise that neither he nor many of the other castmembers are returning for the film's sequel. Under the working title Pacific Rim: Maelstrom, the production does still have Guillermo del Toro on board, but only in a producing capacity.
So that leaves a cast, as the sequel is somewhat of a reset on characters. Guillermo did explain that Charlie Day and Burn Gorman's characters are expected to return, but there hasn't been any official casting on that just yet. What the production does have, however, is still pretty strong. Coming off The Force Awakens, John Boyega is becoming a hot property. According to Variety, the actor will star and play the son of Idris Elba's character. Just in case you didn't see it, that character dies. So we can only assume some sort of redemption story.
Scott Eastwood has also been cast for an unknown role. But, without Rinko Kikuchi, we need some female talent. Somebody big. So how about Cailee Spaeny? Wait, what? We've never heard of her.
Who is Cailee Spaeny?
Yes, I've never heard of Cailee, but it's not my fault. The girl is an unknown. Besides appearing in the short Counting to 1000, there's little about her. Unless you follow Internet stars who sing cover songs, of course.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BH8Fvo8BKQP/
The quickest way to get insight of Cailee is to stalk her Instagram. Other than the casting announcement, what part she'll be playing and how important is completely unknown. If she does get to play romantic interest of Boyega, this will be one helluva career launch.
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