John Adedayo B. Adegboyega popularly known as John Boyega boosted his already elevated status in Hollywood at the premiere of “Pacific Rim: Uprising” at the TCL Chinese Theater as not just the star of the film, but also as a first-time producer.
Boyega, best known as Finn in two “Star Wars” movies, admitted on the red carpet that he’s ready for more producing.
“If I could produce every single film I’m in, I would,” he said. “I love it. I love it.”
Boyega plays Jake Pentecost, the son of Idris Elba’s character Stacker Pentecost, who sacrificed his life in the original 2013 movie “Pacific Rim,” directed by Guillermo del Toro.
“Being a producer has been fantastic,” Boyega said. “It’s something I’d studied for and I wanted to be part of. There was a whole process I’d never seen from that perspective. There were loads of things I was involved in — in terms of choices for the movie. It was surprising to see how much goes into the development of a movie of this scale.”
Del Toro, who’s also a producer, decided to give up the directing gig in 2016 to focus on “The Shape of Water,” leading to “Spartacus” helmer Steven DeKnight taking the post.
“John Boyega was a great producer from the standpoint of always looking at the big picture,” DeKnight said.
Del Toro is a producer on the project along with the Cale Boyter, Mary Parent, Femi Oguns, Jon Jashni and Thomas Tull. Cast members said they were thrilled over del Toro winning Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director for “The Shape of Water” on March 4.
“Guillermo Del Toro is like the Santa Claus of filmmaking,” said actress Ivanna Sakhno. “He makes movies that connect on such an emotional level.”
Universal and Legendary’s “Pacific Rim: Uprising” opens Friday. It’s set 10 years after the Battle of the Breach with a new generation of Jaeger pilots ready to combat the evolving Kaiju monsters and prevent humanity’s extinction. The cast also includes Scott Eastwood, Jing Tian, Cailee Spaeny, Rinko Kikuchi, Burn Gorman, and Adria Arjona.
