Pacific Rim: Uprising Gets a Traditional Chinese Launch Ceremony

03/08/2017 11:05 pm EST

The highly-anticipated Pacific Rim: Uprisingis currently in the middle of production. And by the looks of it, they recieved a very warm welcome from one of the countries they are filming in.

John Boyega, who stars in the film, recently shared a photo of him taking part in a traditional 'big luck' ceremony in China. According to Boyega, the production started filming in China earlier today, and was given the ceremony "to ensure successful filming."

For the uninitiated, the ceremony traditionally involved lighting incense - as Boyega and a crew member can be seen doing above - while saying prayers in the direction of each of the four cardinal directions.

This isn't the first time a ceremony of this nature has been done on a major film set. When beginning production of the 2012 film Life of Pi, director Ang Lee performed a big luck ceremony for his cast and crew, a tradition he reportedly has on each of his film shoots. According to a report from the LA Times, Lee's version of the ceremony ended with him turning on a movie camera and striking a gong.

Here's hoping that the cast and crew of Pacific Rim: Uprising have a great shoot while filming in China.

Pacific Rim: Uprising is currently being filmed, and is expected to hit theaters February 23, 2018. The original Pacific Rim earned $411 million worldwide, with $101 million of that coming domestically.

Are you excited for the Pacific Rim sequel? Let us know how hyped you are for it in our Anticipation Rankings below! Currently, our users have ranked the film as their #13 most-anticipated movie...

MORE PACIFIC RIM 2: New Closeup Photos Of John Boyega's Armor / Has Karl Urban Been Cast In Pacific Rim Sequel? / John Boyega Spotted In Jaeger Pilot Armor / Pacific Rim Sequel Gets A New Name / Zhang Jin Cast In Pacific Rim 2

Pacific Rim: Uprising will open in theaters on Feb. 23, 2018.

Disclosure: ComicBook is owned by CBS Interactive, a division of Paramount. Sign up for Paramount+ by clicking here.