When Gareth Edwards is not making science-fiction films – and what science-fiction films, his first three movies being Monsters, Godzilla and arguably the best Star Wars movie this side of the original trilogy, Rogue One – he likes to annoy family and friends with dilemmas.
‘I love being like, “Ah, imagine if…” and, “What would you do if…”,’ he grins over Zoom from his LA base (‘I can’t bring myself to say I live in LA, not to a fellow Brit’), explaining that the best scenarios are those that offer no easy way out. Like, ‘If you could go back in time and kill Hitler, but the catch is, he’s an innocent, four-yearold kid, could you do it?’
And so he arrived at the ethical dilemma that occupies the heart of his new science-fiction action drama, The Creator. The year is 2070. AI has detonated a nuclear warhead on Los Angeles, sparking all-out war. And John David Washington’s ex-specialforces agent Joshua has gone into New Asia (‘It’s what we call a collection of countries in Southeast Asia, where this war is going on,’ explains Edwards) and located the ultimate AI weapon… which turns out to be a child, played by newcomer Madeleine Yuna Voyles. ‘Execute her, or we go extinct,’ Joshua is told, as seen in the skin-prickling trailer. But can he do it?
Edwards’ grin is widening. ‘For humans to win the war and survive, all they have to do is destroy this advanced AI. This weapon is the first AI that will surpass humans. Everything else in our movie is equal to humans – like, the same, basically copy-and-paste. But she is this new thing, the singularity, that will change everything. [Humans] want this technology destroyed. And then they basically find out that it’s this six-year-old girl, and it all goes wrong from there. Obviously the journey for John David’s character is just that constant knowledge of, “I’m going to have to kill this thing at some point,” as he travels with this kid, and how that starts to affect him.’
Some viewers of the trailer excitedly tweeted that looks like Edwards’ – war against; the movie takes different turns from there. More of an influence, he says, is Stephen Frears’ 1984 thriller , in which a couple of criminals played by John Hurt and Tim Roth capture on-the-lam ex-crim Terence Stamp, who ratted out his crew 10 years ago. They’re assigned to drive him across Spain and France, to Paris, to meet his fate, but form a bond en route. Likewise Joshua and Alphie, as our hero calls the child (the weapon’s codename is Alpha Omega), but with cutting-edge complexities layered on top.
