Pacific Rim: Uprising star John Boyega told me during a phone chat this week that not only are the Jaegers "much more swift" in the forthcoming sequel, but their enemy, the Kaiju, "have grown more intelligent" in their campaign against the surface world.

Be mindful ofahead about the first Pacific Rim and the sequel. (And look for our full interview with John Boyega about his new drama, Detroit, tomorrow.)

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"As you know, Pacific Rim 1 ended with Stacker Pentecost [played by Idris Elba] dying, and Raleigh [played by Charlie Hunnam] dying as well, and they feel like they've closed the Breach, but unfortunately the enemy has grown more intelligent and has other ways of doing things, and we are met with a rogue character," Boyega explained."I am playing Jacob Pentecost, who is kind of like the prodigal son of Stacker Pentecost," Boyega said. "Now he's faced with rejoining the PPDC [Pan Pacific Defense Corps] and trying to help the fight against the Kaiju again. But it's gonna be in a different way this time."Boyega continued, "And it's still heavily influenced by Guillermo del Toro [the 2013 original's director], but at the same time, Steven DeKnight's directing. And it's gonna be really fun. It's larger than life."He added, "We've got better upgrades. The robots are moving much more swift. Yeah, we're like ballerinas up in there, it's fantastic."In related news, Pacific Rim: Uprising received a new release date this week, shifting from February 23, 2018 to March 23, 2018.