skynet. Ultron. HAL-9000. These are just a few artificial intelligence systems doomed to fail in movies. Whether The Creator can produce a fictional AI that would shape popular culture remains to be seen, but it’s another film pitting humanity against artificial intelligence. According to the official website, the film is about Joshua, a former special forces agent recruited to hunt down the Creator. This is the architect behind the advanced AI designed to protect humanity, only to then detonate a nuclear warhead in Los Angeles.
The Creator also appeared to be developing a weapon with the power to end all war and all of humanity, and Joshua and his team were tasked with destroying it. Then they discovered that the world-destroying weapon is an AI in the form of a small child. Of course Joshua couldn’t kill it and ended up taking it to the courts and making it do kid things like play with other kids. Is it evil or not? We don’t know at this point. Released by 20th Century Studios, New Regency and Entertainment One, the trailer simply shows the AI as a playful, curious child.
The film was directed and conceived by Gareth Edwards, the same director as Rogue One. John David Washington (Tenet) plays Joshua, the protagonist who mourns the disappearance of his wife, played by Gemma Chan. Ken Watanabe, Sturgill Simpson and Allison Janney also star in the film, which hits theaters September 29.