Netflix's The Electric State Trailer Throws Millie Bobby Brown Into The Post-Apocalyptic '90s
Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt are taking a road-trip through the post-apocalyptic '90s in the first trailer for "The Electric State." The upcoming Netflix movie is based on the atmospheric visual novel of the same name by Simon Stålenhag, and was adapted by the creative team behind Marvel movies like "Avengers: Endgame" and "Captain America: Civil War" (screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, and directors Anthony and Joe Russo).
The film is set in a retro-futuristic version of America, where cartoonish robots have been exiled to an area called the Exclusion Zone following a failed uprising. Brown plays Michelle, an orphaned teenager who embarks on a quest to find her missing brother inside the Exclusion Zone, with a little help from a robot called Cosmo (voiced by Alan Tudyk), a smuggler called Keats (Pratt), and Keats' giant robot sidekick, Herman (voiced by Anthony Mackie).
On the human side, the cast also includes Ke Huy Quan, Jason Alexander, Giancarlo Esposito, the always-delightful Stanley Tucci, and Woody Norman. Other robot voices in the movie are provided by Woody Harrelson, Brian Cox, and Jenny Slate.
The Electric State is the most expensive Netflix movie ever made
After directing the highest-grossing movie of all time (well, until "Avatar" returned to reclaim the title), the Russo Brothers had a lot of leverage in Hollywood. They were practically given a blank check for projects like "Citadel" ($300 million for one season) and "The Gray Man" ($200 million, one of Netflix's most expensive films ever).
While the "Electric State" trailer has some cool visuals, the fact that it cost Netflix more than $300 million (according to Puck) is pretty shocking, and not hugely evident on screen. The naturalistic look of the robots is reminiscent of Gareth Edwards' recent sci-fi movie "The Creator," which was made for a thrifty $80 million.
Back in 2017, Deadline reported that the Russos had won a "heated bidding war" for the rights to "The Electric State," in which "at least four studios made offers and numerous producers and directors chased it." The film was originally going to be released by Universal Studios, who ultimately passed on it after being unwilling to meet the budget requirements. When Netflix acquired the project, the planned budget was around $200 million, but costs appear to have ballooned somewhere along the way.
Will Netflix's big bet pay off? We'll find out when "The Electric State" hits the streaming service on March 14, 2025.