Pacific Rim sequel casts Star Wars' John Boyega as Idris Elba's son

John Boyega will be leading mankind's attack against the monsters in Pacific Rim 2. Deadline reports that the British actor has scored the lead role in the sequel, where he'll appear as the son of Idris Elba's character Stacker Pentecost.

After making a name for himself with roles in Attack The Block and a small action caper called Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Boyega is no stranger to facing off against alien invaders and evil regimes. Pacific Rim's fleet of monsters, the kaiju, are both invaders and evil so he's definitely a good fit for the part.

The first Pacific Rim made around $400 million worldwide, a 'measly' sum in comparison to most summer blockbusters, which is one of the reasons a sequel has taken its time in moving forward. Guillermo Del Toro who directed the 2013 original is back for the follow-up as executive producer, and is ecstatic to have Boyega on board:

“I am very proud and happy to welcome John into a fantastic sandbox," he says in a statement. "The Pacific Rim universe will be reinforced with him as a leading man as it continues to be a multicultural, multi-layered world. ‘The World saving the world’ was our goal and I couldn’t think of a better man for the job.” We couldn't agree more.

Directed by Steven DeKnight and written by Guillermo Del Toro, Pacific Rim 2 is currently without an official release date but is expected to land sometime in 2018.

Images: Disney, Legendary

Gem Seddon is GamesRadar+'s west coast Entertainment News Reporter, working to keep all of you updated on all of the latest and greatest movies and shows on streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime. Outside of entertainment journalism, Gem can frequently be found writing about the alternative health and wellness industry, and obsessing over all things Aliens and Terminator on Twitter.