Kaiju-Jaeger hybrids and 5 other things we want to see in Pacific Rim: Uprising

Pacific Rim was every science fiction fan’s dream come true – giant robots fighting giant monsters from otherworldly dimensions as the fate of the world hung precariously in the balance. It was a grand mash-up of old monster movies, Neon Genesis Evangelion, mecha movies, Godzilla movies and virtually everything an otaku could want.

There’s so much to love about Pacific Rim that its entry on TV Tropes has to sub-index everything by letter, because there are just too many awesome tropes for the movie.

With great popularity comes great expectations. Now that the world has (ostensibly) been saved from the kaiju (the giant monsters in Pacific Rim), what new dangers will arise in Pacific Rim: Uprising? We take you through some of our wildest hopes for the sequel! (We know it’s released, but we haven’t seen it yet!)

1. The legendary Kaiju-Jaeger hybrid

Is this what we think it is? Credit: Hybrid Network

So here’s a quick refresher – Kaiju are the giant monsters (that are revealed to be from an alien dimension), and the Jaegers are giant robots that humanity has built to protect the world from these monster attacks. It sounds like the plot of every mecha movie (including Power Rangers), except that the Jaegers are distinctly more brutal when fighting. Plus, they don’t have glamorous finishing moves – their combat is visceral and painful.

The idea of a Kaiju-Jaeger hybrid has been teased so much that we can’t wait to see how the two giant creatures are fused together. What’s more interesting is that there are so many ways that it could go wrong. The evil aliens could assert control over it via its Kaiju components. Or maybe the Kaiju itself might override the Jaeger programming and go rogue. And if a Kaiju-Jaeger hybrid is more powerful than either a Kaiju or a Jaeger – what could possibly stop it?

2. A visit to the Anteverse

In the first Pacific Rim movie, the heroes discovered the Breach, a portal to the Anteverse where the Kaiju come from. We didn’t quite get to meet the alien Precursors (just a short shot), the creators of the Kaiju, but we did get a glimpse of the otherworldly dimension that they came from. It was a psychedelic universe, which is pretty fitting given the nature of the Kaiju.

So we’re hoping that in Pacific Rim: Uprising, we’ll finally get an lengthier excursion into the Anteverse. Rather than a peek, we’d like to embark on a full blown journey into the literal belly of the universal beast. And there’s a precedent for that too – Raleigh (Charlie Hunnam) entered the Anteverse but never returned. True, it’s most likely that he passed on in the nuclear explosion that sealed the Breach.

But who’s to say that the Anteverse has the same laws of physics as our universe does?

3. A Kaiju pilot

Kaiju Size Chart. Credit: Relatively Interesting

So in Pacific Rim, we learned that the Jaeger need to be piloted by two humans in a complicated mental bonding process known as drifting. The Kaiju themselves are feral beasts that exist only to create chaos and wreak havoc on all of humanity.

But then, the Kaiju are alien creatures. They don’t necessarily have to follow the same laws of biology as we do. And as we saw in the first film, it’s possible to drift with a Kaiju’s brain – meaning that a human being could forge a mental connection with the Kaiju in the same way they do for a Jaeger.

So it wouldn’t be too far of a stretch to see two human pilots controlling a Kaiju in Pacific Rim: Uprising… would it?

4. The alien creators of the Kaiju – the Precursors

The Precursors. Credit: Pacific Rim Wiki

The creators of the Kaiju are such mysterious entities that one can’t help being curious about them. Who are they? What they do want? What unfathomable reason would they have for wanting to invade our world?

That’s what we’re hoping to see in Pacific Rim: Uprising. The Precursors must have some sort of insane reason for wanting to invade our universe (if they can create monstrosities like the Kaiju, what use could they possibly have for Earth?), something that we would never expect.

And something that’s probably quite horrific, too.

5. A giant combining Kaiju

A common trope of super robot shows is that they can combine into a larger, more powerful form. It emphasises the theme that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

But if the Kaiju had that power… we would get an unstoppable monster. It’ll be creepy to think about how they would actually fuse together (where do all the brains go?) and any super powers they might develop from the fusion. Pacific Rim already showed us how massive Class 5 Kaiju could be – what if five of these Class 5 Kaiju merged into one? How humongous would it be?

6. The Kaiju black market

You can always trust humans to be opportunistic, no matter how foolish that might be. The Kaiju black market, which was touched upon in Pacific Rim, is a manifestation of that. That’s how they obtained Kaiju body parts for their experiments.

Where exactly is this Kaiju black market, anyway? Even the smallest Kaiju body part would be far too large to fit into an average warehouse. They are way too big to be smuggled across any border (it’d be like smuggling an aircraft carrier). And you’d need billions, if not trillions, of dollars to buy a single Kaiju part since they’re so rare. Who’s buying those Kaiju parts? Who’s storing and selling them? How does it even work? Did they set up an eBay store?

Or maybe they’ve got an Etsy shop. Nobody would ever think of buying Kaiju parts on Etsy.

Pacific Rim. Credit: Golden Village Cinemas

So what’s going to happen in Pacific Rim: Uprising? Ten years after the first film, it turns out that someone is mass producing the Jaegers – but nobody knows why. It’s up to a new generation of pilots to find out what’s happening and unravel the conspiracy. Of course, the Kaiju are never lurking far behind, and you know they’re just waiting to strike.

Will we see the Precursors? The Anteverse? A giant combining Kaiju? The actual Kaiju black market? The Kaiju-Jaeger hybrid? Or even a human pilot of a Kaiju?

Only Pacific Rim: Uprising has the answers. Hopefully, they don’t end the film with even more questions!

Credits: Hybrid Network, Relatively Interesting, Pacific Rim Wiki, Golden Village Cinemas, United International Pictures

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