Why You Should Keep a Close Eye on Charlie Day in ‘Pacific Rim Uprising’

Chris Tilly
Movies
Movies

The following article contains SPOILERS for Pacific Rim Uprising. So proceed with caution.

There’s something weird going on with Charlie Day’s character in Pacific Rim Uprising. Dr. Newton Geiszler — aka Newt — is now working in the private sector for the shady Shao Industries. He’s also more confident and cocky. If a little bit confused.

The truth emerges as the film progresses, with Newt turning into the film’s surprise villain. Writer-director Steven DeKnight describing his transformation as follows…

Newt’s Conversion to the Dark Side

“To me, the best villains are the ones you love,” DeKnight explains. “I love Charlie Day and I love the character of Newt. So we developed this idea. There’s a warning that Ron Perlman gives in the first movie about drifting with Kaiju brains being a really bad idea. And Newt gets addicted to the rush of drifting with Kaiju brains. It’s kind of like a drug.

“Much like Ron Perlman warned, it works both ways, and the Precursors were able to get their hooks into his brain because he had opened up this connection. It’s not that Newt has gone bad and hates everybody. It’s that he’s being controlled by the aliens on the other side. And he’s not strong enough to fight them off.”

‘Pacific Rim Uprising’ Pre-Credit Sting Explained

While the Marvel movies have post-credit stings, Pacific Rim Uprising does it differently. Inserting a coda just before the credits. One that features Newt, and sets the wheels in motion for DeKnight’s proposed sequel.

The writer-director describes the scene as follows: “They’ve captured Newt and they are planning on using him to figure out how to get to the next world. Basically, the idea is that they want to take the fight to the Precursors. They’re not going to sit around waiting to be attacked anymore.”

As for whether that means Newt will be a super-villain if/when Pacific Rim 3 rolls around, DeKnight says, “He certainly could. At the end of this movie, nothing says super-villain like being strapped to a fancy metal chair in a deep, dark holding cell.”

Pacific Rim Uprising is in cinemas now.

Chris Tilly
Freelance writer. At this point my life is a combination of 1980s horror movies, Crystal Palace football matches, and episodes of I'm Alan Partridge. The first series. When he was in the travel tavern. Not the one after.