Netflix has finally unveiled a bunch of first-look images of its next big-budget sci-fi movie The Electric State – and, based on initial online reactions, nobody’s quite sure what to make of it.
The official screenshots (see below) offer a first glimpse at Joe and the next expensively-assembled Netflix sci-fi buddy comedy film from Joe and Anthony Russo, aka the Russo brothers. The directing duo, who are best known for their work on numerous Marvel movies, have assembled a starry cast for The Electric State, with Stranger Things‘ Millie Bobby Brown and Guardians of the Galaxy’s Chris Pratt installed as co-leads.
Here’s a first look at Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt in The Electric State. Directed by the Russo Brothers. Coming 2025.After a robot uprising in the ’90s, an orphaned teen searching for her brother travels the American West with a robot, a smuggler, and his sidekick. pic.twitter.com/SOO9uizt3XOctober 1, 2024
The forthcoming flick, which will be one of 2025’s new Netflix movies, is based on Simon Stålenhag’s dystopian sci-fi graphic novel of the same name. Set in an alternate reality in 1997, the multitalented Swedish artist’s book follows a teenage girl and her robot companion as they traverse the southwest US following a technology-based catastrophe.
What is The Electric State’s plot about? And who else is part of the cast?
As The Electric State movie adaptation’s logline suggests, Netflix has slightly altered the source material’s story to tell a more elaborate tale that puts a greater emphasis on hot topics including artificial intelligence, plus universal themes about what it means to be human. Here’s a comprehensive plot brief, courtesy of a Netflix press release for anyone who wants more details:
“Set in an alternate, retro-futuristic version of the 1990s, Brown stars as Michelle, an orphaned teenager navigating life in a society where sentient robots resembling cartoons and mascots, who once served peacefully among humans, now live in exile following a failed uprising.
“Everything Michelle thinks she knows about the world is upended one night when she’s visited by Cosmo, a sweet, mysterious robot who appears to be controlled by Christopher – Michelle’s genius younger brother whom she thought was dead. Determined to find the beloved sibling she thought she had lost, Michelle sets out across the American southwest with Cosmo, and soon finds herself reluctantly joining forces with Keats (Pratt), a low-rent smuggler, and his wisecracking robot sidekick, Herman (voiced by Anthony Mackie).
“As they venture into the Exclusion Zone, a walled-off corner in the desert where robots now exist on their own, Keats and Michelle find a strange, colorful group of new animatronic allies – and begin to learn that the forces behind Christopher’s disappearance are more sinister than they ever expected.”
Joining Brown, Pratt, and Mackie on the cast roster are Ke Huy Quan (Loki), Jason Alexander, Woody Norman, Giancarlo Esposito (The Mandalorian), and Stanley Tucci (Citadel). Woody Harrelson (Zombieland), Brian Cox (Succession), Jenny Slate (It Ends With Us), Hank Azaria (The Simpsons), Colman Domingo (Sing Sing), and Alan Tudyk (Star Wars: Rogue One) are also part of the film’s A-list supporting voice cast.
What are people saying about The Electric State?
As I mentioned, The Electric State is only tentatively scheduled to arrive sometime in 2025. However, given the wide-ranging opinions I’ve already seen about it online, I can’t confidently say it’ll deserve a spot on our best Netflix movies list yet.
While it looks visually impressive and has a talented cast full of household names, movies of this scale and budget can’t simply rely on its A-listers and looks to get by. Viewers want substance to go along with a film’s style so, until we get a sense of how The Electric State sounds and feels – a trailer would help, Netflix – it’s impossible to tell if it’ll be one of the best new movies we’ll see next year.
That hasn’t stopped people from offering their thoughts on The Electric State‘s debut images, though. Threads on forums like ResetEra and Reddit are packed with fans voicing their opinions on, well, everything. Indeed, from its skilled but polarizing cast and the Russo brothers’ post-MCU track record, to the blockbuster’s evidently massive budget and even the hairstyles that Michelle, Keats, and Quan’s Doctor Amherst have, fans have got plenty to say about the forthcoming flick.
Clearly, nothing about The Electric State is safe from being critiqued and/or praised before it arrives on the world’s best streaming service. So, buckle up folks, it’s going to a bumpy ride in the lead up to its eventual launch.