Pacific Rim Uprising Footage Might Confirm Jaeger Theory

Contains potential spoilers for Pacific Rim Uprising

A new teaser featurette for Pacific Rim Uprising might hint that there's more going on beneath the surface.

Earlier this year, the first trailer for the sequel to 2013's Pacific Rim showed us a glimpse of the mechanical Jaegers battling each other instead of the kaiju. It could be that the Jaegers are simply training, but the new video shows the mechs in a decidedly heated battle. 

As Nerdist theorizes, it's possible that humans have started to use the Jaegers in their own battles against each other during the decade the kaiju are absent. We know from Entertainment Weekly that the wealthy have moved to the middle of the country, leaving the poor on the coasts, where the kaiju are likely to emerge. Is it possible that there's some kind of warfare based around this potential conflict?

But, perhaps even more intriguing, it seems like that conflict could continue even after the kaiju come back. The new footage shows two fighting Jaegers who seem to have a lot on the line.

Of course, it's also possible that some rogue Jaeger pilots end up siding with the kaiju against the other humans. If there's really a longstanding battle among the people of Earth, using the kaiju as allies could be an effective if not dangerous tactic. But the kaiju don't really seem like the type to make deals. 

Steven S. McKnight directs and John Boyega (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) stars in the flick, which hits theaters March 23, 2018.