Idris Elba's Pacific Rim Resurgence: 13 Years Later, a Sci-Fi Classic Returns

7 hours ago 5

Published Jan 28, 2026, 3:52 PM EST

Adam Blevins began working in the entertainment industry in 2022 as a Staff Writer for Agents of Fandom, where he progressed to Senior Editor and interviewed talent from Marvel Studios, House of the Dragon, and Planet of the Apes. He joined Collider as a News Author in April 2024, was promoted to a Senior position in December 2024, and has written over 3,000 articles for the site, including exclusives relating to Avengers: Doomsday, The Penguin, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, and more. He primarily writes about the latest box office numbers and the hottest movies and TV shows on streaming, while also covering superhero and sci-fi news. He has completed a set visit for The Chosen and even has several months of experience writing Gaming Features at ScreenRant. You can find him on X, LinkedIn, and Muckrack.

Fans around the world have lifted Idris Elba’s hit Apple TV series to the top of streaming charts, but they’re also rushing to revisit one of his most overlooked sci-fi classics on streaming. 13 years ago, Elba teamed up with Charlie Hunnam (The Gentlemen) for Pacific Rim, the legendary sci-fi epic following a group of special pilots who fight with giant mechanized suits in a world-ending war between humans and large sea creatures. Pacific Rim is not streaming anywhere in America at the time of writing, but the film has vaulted back into the VOD top 10 on Apple TV overseas in countries such as Luxembourg and Slovenia.

Pacific Rim earned solid scores of 72% from critics and 77% from audiences on the aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, and it was also a massive financial success. Warner Bros. and Legendary footed a $190 million bill for the making of Pacific Rim back in 2013, but the film grossed over $410 million at the global box office. It even spawned a sequel that was released five years later, Pacific Rim: Uprising, but it didn’t live up to the lofty expectations set by its predecessor. Star Wars veteran John Boyega stars in the 2018 sequel.

Guillermo del Toro wrote and directed Pacific Rim with help from Travis Beacham on the script. Del Toro did not return a few years later to work on the sequel, which was instead written and directed by Steven S. DeKnight. Guillermo del Toro is a multiple-time Oscar-winner for his work on films like The Shape of Water and Pinocchio. He most recently directed Frankenstein, the historical fantasy epic starring Jacob Elordi and Oscar Isaac.

What Are the Best Idris Elba Movies on Streaming?

Idris Elba fans should head to Prime Video to check out his latest action thriller with John Cena, Heads of State, which spent weeks atop streaming charts last year. Elba’s fantasy Western, inspired by the works of Stephen King, The Dark Tower, is also streaming on Prime Video. The film co-stars Matthew McConaughey. On Netflix, Elba recently featured with Rebecca Ferguson in the gripping political thriller, A House of Dynamite. He can also be seen in No Good Deed, the thriller with Taraji P. Henson, but the film is leaving the platform on January 31.