'Pacific Rim: Uprising' Cast: Rinko Kikuchi Reportedly Returns As Mako, But Karl Urban Denies Involvement

Pacific Rim: Uprising, the film formerly known as Pacific Rim 2, may involve Rinko Kikuchi returning in her iconic role as Mako Mori in the first film.

Now that shooting has begun, an Instagram post from cinematographer Dan Mindel appears to confirm that Rinko Kikuchi has returned. While the post is down now, here's the photo:

The piece of paper appears to confirm that Kikuchi is back as Mako Mori. It also appears to confirm that Charlie Day and Burn Gorman are reprising their fan-favorite roles as Newt and Gottlieb.

The paper also lists Scott Eastwood and Cailee Spaeny, who are already confirmed as new characters in the sequel.

Finally, the paper appears to indicate that Karl Urban will have some part in Pacific Rim 2 . Unfortunately, the actor stated on Twitter that appearances are deceiving:

In a 2014 interview with Collider, Guillermo del Toro discussed the sequel’s plot, stating:

“It’s a few years after the first one. It’s not an immediate follow-up. It is the world having been freed of Kaiju, what happens to the world after – what happens to the Jaeger technology once the Kaiju are not a threat. It’s quite a jump.”

He added:

“It’s quite a different movie from the first one in that, but I think that two of our main characters like in the first one are Burn and Charlie. They are really, really – I mean, honestly, they are probably the guys I have the most fun writing along with Hannibal Chau so just from a purely selfish drive, I like writing them. I love writing for Charlie and Burn. I mean, [Burn’s] in Crimson Peak for that reason, because I love working with him. You’re gonna get a lot of that, but the Kaijus are very different and you’re gonna see a very different type of the robots I think. It’s gonna be quite a different adventure.”

Steven S. DeKnight, creator of Spartacus as well as head writer and executive producer on Season 1 of Daredevil, will launch his directorial debut with Pacific Rim: Uprising .

Also a part of the Pacific Rim family? Mega-star John Boyega of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Attack the Block, who will not only play the role of Idris Elba’s son from the first film, but whose production company Upper Room Productions will be helping to finance the film.

"I am very proud and happy to welcome John into a fantastic sandbox," said del Toro at the time, who will be credited as an executive producer. "The Pacific Rim universe will be reinforced with him as a leading man as it continues to be a multicultural, multi-layered world. ‘The World saving the world’ was our goal and I couldn't think of a better man for the job."

Pacific Rim: Uprising hits theaters February 23, 2018. Are you ready?