(Updated 07/25/2023)
Artificial intelligence has become one of the biggest talking points of the year. The value of artificial intelligence, in business and creativity, is debated in forums online and in person every day. This fall, the movie THE CREATOR will turn the ideological AI debate into all out warfare.
This movie combines the spirit of landmark sci-fi films such as TERMINATOR 2, AKIRA, and CHILDREN OF MEN as it depicts a desperate bid to end the conflict between humanity and the artificial intelligence we created to protect ourselves.
THE CREATOR comes from the director of ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY, and the film's visual style has the somewhat ramshackle look of that movie. John David Washington (TENET) stars as a soldier tasked with delivering the ultimate weapon into the hands of humanity. You can check out the latest trailer below.
The Creator Opens This Fall
20th Century Studios will release THE CREATOR exclusively in movie theatres on September 29.
Watch the Stunning Trailer for The Creator
There's a teaser trailer and a more recent full trailer (above) for THE CREATOR but they're pretty similar. Both demonstrate that the look of the movie is set very much apart from other sci-fi movies. This looks more like the movies of Neill Blomkamp than anything else, really — except for the films of THE CREATOR's director Gareth Edwards, who we'll get to in a moment.
The Song in The Creator Trailer
Both the first teaser trailer and the full trailer for THE CREATOR use a reworked version of "Dream On" by Aerosmith. It's a rule that at least one trailer every year has to use "Dream On" so it's good that this team jumped on it.
The Creator Is Directed By Gareth Edwards
Gareth Edwards has a documentary background, which probably contributes to the overall aesthetic of his fictional movies. In 2010, Edwards combined fairly low-budget location shooting with some very smartly-made digital effects to create MONSTERS. From there he leapt up to the 2014 GODZILLA, and then to ROGUE ONE, released in 2016. There's a definite throughline in those movies, where scrappy people push back against seemingly overwhelming forces.
For THE CREATOR, which has been in the works for a few years, Edwards teamed up once again with ROGUE ONE cinematographer Greig Fraser, and is working for the first time with composer Hans Zimmer. That's an exciting combo! Certainly the Edwards/Fraser combination means that even though this is not a Star Wars movie, there will be a visual link to ROGUE ONE, and that's a great thing.
The Cast of The Creator
In the primary role (but probably not the title role) is John David Washington, who was last seen in AMSTERDAM. Washington is best known for Spike Lee's BLACKKKLANSMAN and Christopher Nolan's TENET. The last movie, in particular, has been starting to find its audience after debuting during the pandemic in 2020. So the time is right for the actor to lead a new sci-fi adventure.
Also in the cast are Gemma Chan as Maya, Ken Watanabe as Harun, Sturgill Simpson as Shipley, Madeleine Yuna Voyles as Alfie, Allison Janney as Howell, and Ralph Ineson as Andrews, whose wonderful voice we hear in the trailer.
THE CREATOR opens on September 29.
All images courtesy of 20th Century Studios.