The Russo Brothers may be readying their MCU second coming as we speak, but before the filmmaking duo get stuck into Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars' multiversal madness, they've still one more non-IP blockbuster up their sleeves yet. Based on Simon Stålenhag's visually striking 2018 graphic novel, The Electric State — whose mega ensemble includes Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt, Ke Huy Quan, and Woody Harrelson among many, many others — is a Netflix bound, blockbuster sci-fi fantasy set in an alternate version of the 90s where man and AI went to war. We know — how far fetched! Boasting robots, wigs, and post-apocalyptic wasteland vistas galore, it's a far cry from the grittier, more grounded fare the Russos have endeavoured to make with post-Endgame joints Cherry and The Gray Man. Check out the newly released first images from the movie below:
Now there's a movie that looks like it was made by the Russos! Written by the brothers' regular writing collaborators Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, The Electric State's synopsis reads as follows: "The Electric State follows a young woman (Michelle, played by Brown) who embarks on a perilous journey across the robot-ravaged US, accompanied by a mysterious toy robot and a roguish smuggler (Pratt). Together, they’ll unravel a mechanical conspiracy at the center of the American heartland." And, as the Russos explain in a statement shared with Netflix, despite the sci-fi slant, their latest — with its dense lore and pronounced, universal themes — isn't just a bots-go-boom kind of film. “The story felt like a fairy tale to us,” says Anthony Russo. “We really wanted to play into those very elemental aspects of a fairy tale.”
Also among the impressive cast bringing the Russos' latest to life are Stanley Tucci, Jason Alexander, and Woody Norman on the human side of the retro-futuristic divide, and — giving voice to the movie's robots — Anthony Mackie, Brian Cox, and Jenny Slate. Will The Electric State prove to be, well, electrifying stuff? Could we be in for an unexpected shocker? How does the Planters mascot factor into the equation? And why is Chris Pratt giving such Ryan Gosling in The Nice Guys' long-lost brother energy? We'll find out the answers to at least a couple of those questions when The Electric State arrives on Netflix next year.