After enjoying plenty of kudos for his first film, the imaginative, slim-budgeted sci-fi thriller ‘Monsters’, Gareth Edwards was somewhat naturally snapped up by Hollywood to work on some big genre titles, including ‘Godzilla’ in 2014 and ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ in 2016.
Yet he never quite found the same level of success or respect. Don’t get us wrong –– ‘Godzilla’ made more than $520 million on a $160 million budget but Edwards didn’t completely enjoy the process, and as for ‘Rogue One’, there have been many stories about re-shoots and Edwards not having all the control (even if the movie ended in the billion-dollar earners club). There’s a reason that ‘Rogue One’ spin-off show ‘Andor’ comes from Tony Gilroy and not Edwards.
Still, it’s good to know that despite it being seven years since that experience, Edwards has been able to come back strong with a new science fiction movie that is all his. ‘The Creator’ looks to be a compelling blend of humanity-at-war (with AI… timely!) and the emotional storytelling that the writer/director is known for.
What’s the story of ‘The Creator’?
John David Washington as Joshua in 20th Century Studios’ ‘The Creator.’ Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Amidst a future war between the human race and the forces of artificial intelligence (with Los Angeles already lost to a nuclear blast), Joshua (John David Washington), a hardened ex-special forces agent grieving the disappearance of his wife (Gemma Chan), is recruited to hunt down and kill the Creator, the elusive architect of advanced AI who has developed a mysterious weapon with the power to end the war… and mankind itself. Battling across the lush territories of New Asia, humanity is ready to launch a desperate last assault.
Joshua and his team of elite operatives journey across enemy lines, into the dark heart of AI-occupied territory… only to discover the world-ending weapon he’s been instructed to destroy is an AI in the form of a young child. “Alphie” (Madeleine Yuna Voyles) as she becomes named touches Joshua’s heart, making the choice all the more difficult. Soon, they’re being hunted by both sides.
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Who else is in ‘The Creator’?
Gemma Chan as Maya in 20th Century Studios’ ‘The Creator.’ Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
The cast also includes Ken Watanabe, Sturgill Simpson, Ralph Ineson, Marc Menchaca and Allison Janney.
Despite a big ‘Terminator 2’ feel about the movie, Edwards has gone on the record to say that the trailers only hint at what the movie is truly about.
And he certainly wasn’t playing with the sort of huge budgets that James Cameron typically commands –– ‘The Creator’ was made for around $86 million.
(L to R) John David Washington as Joshua and Madeleine Yuna Voyles as Alphie in 20th Century Studios’ ‘The Creator.’ Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Here’s what he told Total Film about the filming:
“We were guerrilla at times. We got down to just a few of us. We went to the top of the Himalayas, and it was just me, John David, a camera guy, and Jim Spencer, who was the line producer on ‘Monsters’ as well. We didn’t even have sound at times. We went to Indonesia, Nepal, Japan, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand. I was really impressed with Oren Soffer, [the Director of Photography who took over from Greig Fraser]. Oren’s a real future rising star in the DoP world. He’s super-smart. He’s got a great eye. And I was shooting a lot of the film. I was operating the camera, like I did on ‘Monsters’ and ‘Rogue One.’ We wanted 360 –– the ability to turn at any point and see anything. I didn’t want the actors to feel limited.”
‘The Creator’ will be in theaters on September 29th.
A scene still from 20th Century Studios’ ‘The Creator.’ Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
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‘The Creator’ is produced by New Regency Pictures, 20th Century Studios, McFarland Entertainment, and Entertainment One, and will be in theaters on September 29th.
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