Netflix Reveals First Look at 'Pacific Rim' TV Show

Netflix gave fans their first look at its upcoming Pacific Rim TV show on Monday, and many are [...]

By Michael Hein

Netflix gave fans their first look at its upcoming Pacific Rim TV show on Monday, and many are excited. The streaming giant has ordered an anime-style animated TV show based on the blockbuster film franchise. From the looks of it, the show will be done in at least partial CGI animation, with familiar set pieces in place.

The new teaser images show a brother and sister teaming up as Jaeger pilots to operate one of the franchise's massive mech suits, with controls and read-outs projected in front of them. The second image seems to show an over-sized, glowing monster attacking a city, although the tweet indicates that "long ago, humanity defeated the Kaiju." It is not clear what this new threat is, but it looks like it will take a "long-abandoned Jaeger" to combat it.

The new series is titled Pacific Rim: The Black, and it comes from Legendary and Polygon Pictures. It sounds like the series is set in a time long after both movies — Pacific Rim and Pacific Rim: Uprising, and it will introduce a new megalithic threat to humanity. From the sound of it, humanity abandoned its massive mech fighters after the Kaiju were defeated, so the series may center around characters rediscovering this "long-abandoned" technology.

Originally premiering in 2013, Pacific Rim is set in a near-future version of earth where humanity is threatened by Kaiju — monsters entering Earth through an interdimensional breach on the ocean floor. They fight back with robotic Jaegers, but operating the mechs takes a massive toll on the pilots' minds. To offset this strain, each Jaeger is operated by two to three pilots, whose minds are linked.

Pacific Rim: The Black has been in development since 2018. According to an earlier press release by Netflix, the show will "follow two siblings - an idealistic teenage boy and his naïve younger sister - who are forced to pilot an abandoned Jaeger across a hostile landscape in a desperate attempt to find their missing parents."

The series has scored showrunners Craig Kyle and Greg Johnson, who have long resumés in the sci-fi and fantasy animation world. The two have both worked extensively on superhero titles, including recent hits from Marvel Entertainment.

The series is also a part of Netflix's increasing focus on animation — particularly anime-style shows. The streaming giant has already seen success with its Godzilla spinoffs, which are sure to give fans confidence in this new venture. Pacific Rim: The Black is set to premiere in 2021.

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