--- description: Breakout 'Star Wars' actor John Boyega is set to take on his second blockbuster franchise, this time with the 'Pacific Rim' sequel. title: John Boyega To Star in The Next 'Pacific Rim' Movie image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # John Boyega Takes On Another Blockbuster Role, This Time With _Pacific Rim_  by [Raisa Bruner](/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 6, 2016 6:54 PM CUT  by [Raisa Bruner](/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 6, 2016 6:54 PM CUT Breakout _Star Wars_ actor John Boyega is living a Hollywood fairytale. After being plucked from relative obscurity to play a leading role in last year’s _Star Wars: The Force Awakens_—in which he was widely applauded for his charming, funny performance—he’s just landed his next big-deal contract. This time, he’ll be starring in the next installment of _Pacific Rim_, another major action blockbuster. The plot: giant sea creatures vs. humanity, aided by giant robots. Boyega’s _Star Wars_ experience should make him feel right at home. The first _Pacific Rim_, released in 2013, was directed by Guillermo del Toro and starred Idris Elba. In _Pacific Rim 2_, Boyega will play Elba’s son, [Deadline reports](https://deadline.com/2016/06/john-boyega-pacific-rim-sequel-star-wars-the-force-awakens-1201767756/ "undefined"). “I am very proud and happy to welcome John into a fantastic sandbox. The _Pacific Rim_ universe will be reinforced with him as a leading man as it continues to be a multicultural, multi-layered world,” del Toro said. Boyega tweeted his excitement on Monday afternoon: > [](https://twitter.com/JohnBoyega/status/739861554997415940) And the production company he founded will also be in on the action: > [](https://twitter.com/JohnBoyega/status/739865052996620288) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4358674/john-boyega-pacific-rim/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4358674/john-boyega-pacific-rim/"},"headline":"John Boyega Takes On Another Blockbuster Role, This Time With Pacific Rim","datePublished":"2016-06-06T18:54:11.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:33:00.805Z","description":"Boyega is taking his battle prowess back to earth in his next big franchise role","url":"https://time.com/4358674/john-boyega-pacific-rim/","keywords":["Newsfeed","movies","entertainment"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4358674/john-boyega-pacific-rim/","name":"John Boyega Takes On Another Blockbuster Role, This Time With Pacific Rim"}}]}] ```