Director Guillermo Del Toro‘s rock-’em-sock-’em robots vs. monsters summer popcorn extravaganza is many months away, but USA Today has a batch of new pics from the film to keep the fires burning, as well as some interesting quotes from the director. Many of the images look like high-res shots from the trailer, but that doesn’t stop them from being cool. Featuring stars Charlie Hunnam, Rinko Kicuchi, Idris Elba, Charlie Day, Ron Perlman, and Clifton Collins Jr., PACIFIC RIM follows the exploits of Jaeger pilots, men and women who control large robots in a battle against the Kaiju, a swarm of monsters who have invaded the planet from beneath the sea. Del Toro, for his part, says it’s “the only movie I’ve done where I don’t want it to end, frankly,” and goes on to say they’re already working on a sequel.
“We’re trying very, very hard to make the fight scenes in the movie very visceral, very much like you are there,” he says. “It’s a very brutal series of battles we wage,” says Del Toro of his approach to the film’s robot vs. monster battles.
Talking at length about the dynamic between the Jaeger robots and the humans who control them, Del Toro says, “Once you’re in the robot you have to become one,” del Toro says. “You have to put aside everything you hate or love about the other person and just work together or we will not survive. That was the idea, that leaning and relying on each other is what makes us stronger.”
If you’re hoping for a kick ass summer flick, then this may stir your hopes: “They’re essentially destruction machines,” del Toro says. “One of the things the movie tries to do is evoke an incredibly rousing sense of romantic adventure — the big adventures you’d want to see as a kid.”
I’m looking forward to PACIFIC RIM, as any fan of robots vs. monsters movies directed by Guillermo Del Toro could be. Reactions to early screenings have been great, with LOOPER director Rian Johnson getting a peek and saying via Twitter, “Go into Pacific Rim prepared to be transmogrified into a 12 year old. And then to pee your pants with joy. I love it so much.”
That’s a pretty damn good endorsement if you ask me.
PACIFIC RIM hits theaters on July 12, 2013.