The Creator Footage Reaction: Gareth Edwards Returns With A New Sci-Fi Action Movie [CinemaCon 2023]

CinemaCon 2023 is in full effect, with the major Hollywood studios going all-out to showcase their biggest box office hopefuls for the rest of the year and beyond. It was at CinemaCon that "Top Gun: Maverick" first wowed audiences on its way to becoming a box office juggernaut, where sneak peeks and announcements are made for movies we'll be spending the next several months talking about.

During the Disney presentation — which covered everything from Marvel blockbusters to the return of "Indiana Jones," the latest ill-advised live-action remake of a Disney animated classic, and (still weird to write this) the next few 20th Century Studios projects — we finally got our first look at the triumphant return of filmmaker Gareth Edwards! This is Edwards' first movie since "Rogue One" released in 2016, so there are plenty of reasons to be excited about the latest from the director of "Monsters" and "Godzilla" (2014).

The film was originally titled "True Love," but it appears it has been re-named "The Creator," which is a cooler title for a sci-fi film. John David Washington and Gemma Chan (along with Oscar-winner Allison Janney, Ken Watanabe, and singer-songwriter Sturgill Simpson) star in "The Creator," which explores a love story set in the middle of a war between humans and A.I. — you know, nothing topical at all. Oh, and the film was shot by cinematographer Greig Fraser ("The Batman," "Dune"), so you know it's going to look great.

With its theatrical release date still several months out, /Film's own Ben Pearson saw the very first footage from Edwards' new film at CinemaCon. "[It] looks like it could be a surprise great movie of 2023," as he put it.

In the footage, we see a young girl asking what heaven is, and John David Washington replies, "You have to be a good person to go to heaven." The story takes place in an apocalyptic future where humans are fighting A.I., and Ben says the footage looks a lot like "District 9" (which is always a great sign), with "lots of action but also an emotional core." As with Neill Blomkamp's fantastic feature debut, "The Creator" takes place in a futuristic setting that's "mixed with grounded realism," complete with futuristic tech and spaceships galore.

As for the title, there's a hint in the transition between "True Love" and "The Creator," given that it seems the film is about a father-son story between Washington's character and his robot child — which is sure to break everyone's heart. Granted, this is Gareth Edwards we're talking about, so it shouldn't be a huge surprise that Ben describes the footage as also having "lots of battles [and] lasers blasting left and right," in addition to Washington "rockin' a beard and looking spectacular."

"The Creator" opens in theaters on September 29, 2023.