Guillermo del Toro's 72% Rotten Tomatoes Mecha Movie Has Flown to a New Streaming Home

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Pacific Rim

If you haven't already, it's time to hop in your Jaegar and charge over to Hulu because Pacific Rim has returned to the Disney-owned platform. Guillermo del Toro's blockbuster monster movie starring Charlie Hunnam and co-written by Travis Beacham arrived on the streamer at the beginning of January and will stick around for a while for viewers to catch its bombastic mech action to start the New Year. It's the perfect time to catch up on the sci-fi smash hit, as del Toro is about to return to theaters later this year for his very different, but much-anticipated Frankenstein adaptation starring Jacob Elordi, Oscar Isaac, and Mia Goth, among others.

Pacific Rim began in the same year it was released — 2013. During that time, massive Kaiju emerged from an interdimensional rift at the bottom of the ocean known only as "The Breach," forcing humanity to fight back with the creation of their own titanic suits of armor called Jaegers. The extra robotic firepower requires two human pilots to share the mental burden through a link called the Drift, though the process proves futile when the Kaiju overpower the most advanced of Jaegers. With mankind on the back foot and seemingly unable to stop the advance of the monstrous threat, all hope rests with ex-pilot Raleigh Beckett (Hunnam) and the untested Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi), who had long dreamed of stepping behind the controls of a Jaeger. They take control of the restored old Gypsy Danger in a final push against the Kaiju before humanity is overwhelmed.

Among del Toro's excellent Oscar-winning filmography, Pacific Rim remains his highest-grossing feature to date with $411 million worldwide. The film had widespread appeal for its mix of big-screen action, paying homage to the Kaiju and mecha genres while telling an emotional story of guilt, empathy, and togetherness through its pilots. Critics and audiences both lauded the film with 72% and 77% scores on Rotten Tomatoes respectively, paving the way for a less beloved sequel in 2018 directed by Steven S. DeKnight and an anime series, Pacific Rim: The Black, in 2021.

The World of 'Pacific Rim' Is About To Be Reborn on the Small Screen

The fighting between humanity and the Kaiju may be about to begin anew, as Legendary Entertainment announced last year that it's developing a prequel series. Arrival scribe Eric Heisserer will helm the series as his first project under his first-look deal with the production banner, beginning a partnership that will see him tackle other Legendary IP on television. No details are available yet about the show, but it could provide further details about the past of characters like Beckett, Mori, and their Idris Elba-played commander, Stacker Pentecost. Pacific Rim jumps forward seven years after the emergence of the Kaiju, which leaves a long stretch of the conflict to explore for the prequel team.

Pacific Rim is now streaming on Hulu. Stay tuned here at Collider for more on the biggest films coming to other platforms throughout the year.