The Creator is a 2023 American science fiction action film produced and directed by Gareth Edwards, who co-wrote the screenplay with Chris Weitz. It stars John David Washington, Gemma Chan, Ken Watanabe, Sturgill Simpson, and Allison Janney. Set in 2070, 15 years after artificial intelligence (AI) set off a nuclear detonation in Los Angeles, which started a war of humans against AI, a former special forces agent is recruited to hunt down and kill the "Creator", who has developed a mysterious weapon with the power to end the war.
Development began in November 2019 when Edwards signed on to direct and write the project for New Regency and was officially announced in February 2020. Washington was hired in May 2021, and the rest of the cast joined over the next year. Filming began in January 2022 in Thailand with an $80 million production budget, and wrapped that May.
The Creator was released in North America on September 29, 2023, by 20th Century Studios. The film grossed $104.3 million worldwide and received generally positive reviews from critics. It earned two nominations at the 96th Academy Awards, for Best Visual Effects and Best Sound, and was nominated for Best Science Fiction Film and Best Film Visual / Special Effects at the 51st Saturn Awards.
Plot
In 2055, an artificial intelligence created by the U.S. government detonates a nuclear warhead over Los Angeles, California. In response, most of the Western world pledges to eradicate AI to prevent humanity's extinction. Their efforts are resisted by New Asia, a region comprising East, South and Southeast Asia, whose people continue to embrace AI. The U.S. military aims to assassinate "Nirmata", the chief architect behind New Asia's AI advancements, using the USS NOMAD (North American Orbital Mobile Aerospace Defense), a space station capable of launching destructive attacks from orbit.
In 2065, U.S. Army Sergeant Joshua Taylor is undercover in New Asia with his pregnant wife Maya, believed to be the daughter of Nirmata. Taylor is exposed when their home is attacked by U.S. military forces, and Maya is presumed dead after a NOMAD strike. Five years later, Taylor, now part of the ground zero cleanup crew, is recruited by General Andrews and Colonel Howell for a mission against "Alpha O", a new weapon developed by Nirmata that could destroy NOMAD. Shown evidence of Maya's survival, Taylor agrees. Infiltrating a compound in New Asia, Taylor finds the weapon is a robotic "simulant" in the form of a young girl who has the ability to control technology. Dubbing her "Alphie", Taylor disobeys Howell and seeks out his ex-commander, Drew.
Drew declares Alphie could be humanity's most powerful weapon. An attack by New Asia police attempting to recover Alphie kills Drew's simulant girlfriend and leaves Drew fatally wounded; before he dies, Drew confesses to Taylor that the reason the military attacked Taylor's home five years ago is because they learned Maya is Nirmata, and they have been keeping it a secret from him ever since. Taylor and Alphie are captured by New Asian forces led by Harun, a simulant soldier and former ally of Taylor's during his time undercover. Harun states that the detonation in Los Angeles was a human error blamed on AI, who only wish to peacefully co-exist with humanity. After escaping his captors, Taylor rescues Alphie as Howell launches an attack on the village. Taylor learns that Maya is alive, but has been in a coma ever since the attack, being kept on life support by simulants. Since simulants cannot harm Nirmata, she is "stranded" and unable to die. As Taylor takes Maya off life support, U.S. forces led by Howell arrive. Howell attempts to extract Maya’s consciousness but is killed by Harun during the process. Harun tells Taylor NOMAD must be destroyed for the war to end. Taylor grabs the memory drive that contains Maya’s consciousness before they escape.
Captured again, Taylor is coerced into killing Alphie with an EMP weapon. However, Andrews later discovers this to be a ruse, allowing the pair to escape. Boarding a lunar shuttle at the Los Angeles Interplanetary Air and Space Port, Alphie forces the spacecraft to dock aboard NOMAD as Andrews orders a large-scale assault on remaining AI bases. Taylor plants explosives; ejects Alphie by escape pod when Andrews activates a robot that prevents him from fleeing; and reunites with a simulant bearing Maya's likeness, activated by Alphie with Maya's memories from the drive that Taylor gave to her as a necklace. They embrace as NOMAD explodes, killing Taylor, destroying Maya, and shutting down the missile guidance system, saving most of the targeted AI bases across New Asia. Arriving on Earth, Alphie is welcomed by the AI population as a new "Nirmata".
Cast
John David Washington as Sergeant Joshua Taylor, a military sergeant and undercover operative of the U.S. Army. He has an artificial right arm and right leg due to injuries he suffered during the nuclear explosion in Los Angeles, along with losing his parents and brother. Madeleine Yuna Voyles as Alpha-O / "Alphie", a robotic A.I. simulant with the ability to remotely control technology. Gemma Chan as Maya Fey, Joshua's wife. Chan also portrays multiple A.I. simulants with the appearance of Maya. Allison Janney as Colonel Howell, a colonel in the U.S. Army who recruits Joshua. She harbors a deep prejudice against AIs due to losing both her sons in the war, one of whom was tortured by insurgents after being tricked by a simulant who seduced him. Ken Watanabe as Harun, an A.I. simulant soldier in New Asia and a former enemy of Joshua’s. Sturgill Simpson as Drew, Joshua's former comrade and best friend. Amar Chadha-Patel as Omni / Sek-on / Sergeant Bui, a citizen of New Asia who has donated his likeness to multiple simulants. Marc Menchaca as McBride, a soldier in the U.S. Army who is part of Joshua's squad. Robbie Tann as Shipley, a soldier in the U.S. Army who is part of Joshua's squad. Ralph Ineson as General Andrews, a general in the U.S. Army who recruits Joshua. Michael Esper as Cotton, the captain of Joshua's squad. Veronica Ngo as Kami, Drew's A.I. simulant girlfriend. Mackenzie Lansing as Harrison
Production Development
Development on the film began in November 2019, when Gareth Edwards signed to direct and write an untitled science fiction project for New Regency, with Edwards' Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) co-producer Kiri Hart as producer. A test shoot and location scouting was conducted that year, with Edwards using it as the opportunity to envision the film's look: "I took a camera and a 1970s anamorphic lens, we went location-scouting in Vietnam, Cambodia, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, and Nepal. Our whole plan was just to go to the greatest locations in the world, because the cost of a flight is way less than the cost of building a set. We were going to hopscotch around the world and shoot this film, then layer in the science-fiction on top afterwards. If our film is trying to achieve something visually, it's trying to feel real in terms of science-fiction."
In February 2020, Edwards was officially announced as director. He cited films such as Apocalypse Now (1979), Baraka (1992), Blade Runner (1982), Akira (1988), Rain Man (1988), The Hit (1984), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) and Paper Moon (1973) as sources of inspiration. The battle sequences in Saving Private Ryan (1998) were also cited as an influence on the film.
Casting
In May 2021, John David Washington was announced to star, and the film's working title was revealed to be True Love. In June 2021, Gemma Chan, Danny McBride, and Benedict Wong entered negotiations to star. The involvements of Chan and Wong were confirmed in January 2022, with Allison Janney, Sturgill Simpson, and Marc Menchaca joining the cast. Simpson was reported to be taking over for McBride who departed due to scheduling conflicts. In February 2022, Ken Watanabe joined the cast to replace Wong, who also had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts; Watanabe had previously worked with Edwards on Godzilla (2014). Madeleine Yuna Voyles' performance received critical acclaim and was nominated for several awards. Filming
On a production budget of $80 million, principal photography began in Thailand on January 17, 2022, with Greig Fraser (who was also a co-producer) and Oren Soffer as cinematographers, and COVID-19 safety precautions in place. To give the film the feel of classic Hollywood epics such as Ben-Hur (1959), the filmmakers opted to shoot in the 2.76:1 ultra-wide aspect ratio. Among the on-site filming locations in Thailand were Suvarnabhumi Airport, Ban Mung, Sangkhla Buri, Chiang Dao, and Sam Phan Bok. As the trailer was released, Thai fans also pointed out a scene shot at Makkasan station of Bangkok's ARL.
For their duties, Fraser was involved in the pre-production process before moving to working remotely due to his commitment to Dune: Part Two (2024), while Soffer, for his first major studio film, served as the main director of photography throughout the production shoot. In an interview with Total Film, Edwards, who was also a camera operator, commended Soffer and what he brought to the film, calling him a "real future rising star in the DoP world. He's super-smart. He's got a great eye." The film was shot on the prosumer Sony FX3 camera, the low cost of which is a rarity for a blockbuster film. Edwards confirmed the camera's usage at the "Directors on Directing" panel at the 2023 San Diego Comic-Con, where director and fellow panelist Louis Leterrier noted that this creative decision could "change cinema" forever.
In light of the budget, the filmmakers utilized guerrilla filmmaking methods by having very few crew members and natural lighting on set for select on-location scenes, and limited sound recording. Rather than building sets, or relying exclusively on digital methods such as greenscreens or StageCraft, the production found it was more cost effective to send a small crew to film in 80 locations around the world which came closest to matching the desired sci-fi look. Then, only once the producers had finalised the edit were visual effects layered into the images. Using this method, Edwards estimated the production spent only $80 million on a project which would have typically cost $300 million. Interior scenes and stuntwork was filmed at Pinewood Studios. Filming wrapped on May 30, 2022.
Visual effects and post-production The visual effects were provided by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), SDFX Studios, Yannix, Virtuos, Weta Workshop Folks VFX, MARZ, Misc Studios, Fin Design + Effects, Outpost VFX, Lekker VFX, Crafty Apes, Jellyfish Pictures, Proof, Territory Studio, Atomic Arts and VFX Los Angeles. James Clyne, who was a concept artist on Rogue One, reunited with Edwards on this film as its production designer.