Artificial intelligence has been a mainstay of the cultural zeitgeist for many years now. But with the appearance of programs such as ChatGPT, which can write college-level essays on any subject and get straight As every time, or Midjourney, which can churn out staggering pieces of art in the style of any artist, real or imagined in seconds, the subject is very much in the public spotlight at present – and it is hard to escape the conclusion that it will stay there.

So it seems very timely that, later this year, the science fiction thriller The Creator will take the advance of AI as its subject. But interest is ramping up in the movie for many other reasons, including an impressive cast, a director who is no stranger to the science fiction genre, and a hefty dose of industry buzz. Here’s what we know so far.
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The Creator: Plot

Warner Bros.

Early descriptions of The Creator – originally called True Love – bore more than a passing resemblance to the central premise behind the Terminator franchise. However, the recent release of the film’s trailer suggests the finished product will be markedly different. Set in a post-apocalyptic future, the film depicts a war between humans and AI. However, the protagonist – a human – seeks to protect an AI child from violence.

These tropes have been explored before, most recently in Blade Runner: 2049, which played with the question of blurry lines between androids and humans. What has wowed industry insiders and, latterly, convention audiences about The Creator, however, has been the realization of the world – spectacular special effects combined with breathless action scenes and some deft directing has heightened the buzz around this picture in recent days.

Related: Gareth Edwards Discusses Rogue One: A Star Wars Story on its Fifth Anniversary and Stands By The Film’s Ending

The Creator: Cast

New Line Media

Leading The Creator’s cast is John David Washington. Having started his career as a professional football player with the St. Louis Rams, Washington later transitioned to acting, and his rise in Hollywood has been swift and impressive.

He garnered favorable reviews with appearances in BlacKkKlansman (2018), for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe and Christopher Nolan’s Tenet (2020). Last year he starred in the comedy thriller Amsterdam opposite Christian Bale and Margot Robbie and is set to appear in the film adaptation of playwright August Wilson’s period drama The Piano Lesson next year.

Starring opposite Washington is British actor Gemma Chan. Chan got her big break on British television, cutting her teeth on flagship BBC shows such as Doctor Who and Sherlock, as well as Secret Diary of a Call Girl and Bedlam. She transitioned to film via British low-budget movies before coming to the attention of Hollywood in a supporting role opposite Chris Pine and Keira Knightley in Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014).

Thereafter Chan found recurring supporting roles in blockbusters such as Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016), Crazy Rich Asians (2018), and – as Minn-Erva – in Captain Marvel (2019). She is shortly due to appear in Duke Johnson’s The Actor, which is currently in post-production.

Allison Janney also appears. Since bagging an Oscar and a BAFTA for her work in the critically acclaimed biopic about Olympic ice skater Tonya Harding, I, Tonya (2018), Janney has been in high demand, appearing with Hugh Jackman in crime drama Bad Education (2019); as one of the star-studded ensemble that voiced the animated version of The Addams Family (2019); and, last year, in Amazon’s romcom The People We Hate at the Wedding.

Janney has spent the spring filming Everything’s Going to Be Great with Bryan Cranston and Jack Champion and will soon be appearing on TV screens in the Apple period comedy Mrs. American Pie with Carol Burnett.

Also starring is Ralph Ineson, who is well known to Harry Potter fans as Amycus Carrow and to aficionados of Game of Thrones as Dagmer Cleftjaw. However, the Yorkshireman has done equally polished work outside the fantasy genre, making accomplished yet understated appearances as in the Coen Brothers’ The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018). In addition, he’s appeared as a Soviet general in HBO’s award-winning miniseries Chernobyl (2019); and opposite Dev Patel in The Green Knight (2021).

Other cast members include Ken Watanabe (Letters from Iwo Jima, Godzilla); Sturgill Simpson (Queen & Slim, The Hunt); and Marc Menchaca (The Evening Hour, No One Gets Out Alive).

Release Date

A24

Helmed by Rogue One: A Star Wars Story director Gareth Edwards, The Creator was due to star MCU star Benedict Wong before the British actor pulled out due to scheduling issues. Principal photography wrapped on The Creator in May last year, and a trailer was released at CinemaCon 2023 in Las Vegas. The Creator will be released in American cinemas on Sept. 29.