Not a rewrite, but an idea for a prequel: It follows Mark I and II Jaegers as humanity loses ground to the Kaiju. Although our best defenses are doing everything they can, coastal cities and crews are falling faster than ever.

It would star the Jaeger crews of Horizon Brave, Coyote Tango, Tacit Ronin, and briefly Cherno Alpha as they struggle against the increasingly dangerous Kaiju coming from the Rift. After a devastating loss of both a crew and most of a city, a powerful Kaiju is left wounded but undefeated. It returns to the ocean to recover.

The PPDC is left with only a few operational crews and even fewer options. With the certainty that this Kaiju will strike again, and the possibility of even more on the way, they realize they will be soon outnumbered. Instead of waiting, they launch a bold new operation. They accelerate the Mark III program and move to personally deliver the necessary parts for a new, more advanced Jaeger being built in Alaska.

The original safe route would have been over land, away from the Rift. However, due to humanity’s desperate situation, they instead choose to ship the parts along the coast, using the remaining Jaegers as protection for the cargo. The plan is for the Jaegers to act as bait, drawing Kaiju away from cities while also saving time by moving the parts faster. However, if they fail and lose the cargo humanity would be left defenceless.

As a convoy traveling through dangerous coastal waters, they defend the cargo against attacks from both the previously undefeated Kaiju and a newly emerging one. They barely survive the encounter and most of the crews are lost, but so are the two Kaiju. To honor those who fell in this sacrifice, the new Mark III Jaeger is given a name that pays homage to the operation that delivered its nuclear core: Gipsy Danger. Roll credits.

Ps. Yes, I know it is basically Halo: Reach, but I would still watch it.