The Russo brothers' latest movie, The Electric State, isn't just an emotional journey about one girl's mission to find her brother. It's also a timely exploration of fears surrounding technology, set in an alternate version of our world where sentient robots attempted to rise up after mistreatment from humanity but were ultimately defeated.
In the aftermath of this war, humankind largely lives plugged into virtual reality headsets called neurocasters, created by Stanley Tucci's tech mogul Ethan Skate, while robots are exiled to their own society in a desolate wasteland.
"It was very intentional themes that were infused into the film, because those are anxieties that we've been dealing with, Anth and I, just as individuals, but also as parents over the last several years," Joe Russo tells GamesRadar+ when we meet with the brothers over Zoom.
"Technology is incredibly invasive in our lives," he continues. "It's highly addictive. There are companies that are very good at manipulating our emotions, heightening conflict between us, because conflict is sticky. It gets us online yelling at each other. So all of it was very intentional. The idea of Ethan Skate creating a device that placates people, takes their pain away and allows them to veg out on their La-Z-Boys, while a drone version of themselves can go out into the world and interact and execute tasks for them, is certainly a metaphor for our phones.
"We like making big fun, entertaining movies, but we like infusing them with ideas, so when the movie's over, you have something to talk about," he says. "It makes for a fuller experience as a movie goer. But also because we have kids, we wanted to do a meditation on some of the issues that we felt were important to talk about with them. And I think a lot of our motivation for making movies now rests with, how will they impact our kids? And what kind of conversation can we have with them after the movie?"
Originally, The Flash and IT helmer Andy Muschietti was on board to direct with the Russos as producers, but plans changed. Why did the Russos want to direct The Electric State themselves, then?
"I think it goes back to the same reason why we wanted to develop it in the first place previous to that, which is just the theme seemed so powerful," says Anthony Russo. "It really felt timely. We wanted to tell a story that explored our relationship to technology, and we wanted to tell it now. It seemed like a necessary time."
The Electric State is on Netflix from March 14. In the meantime, check out our guide to the best Netflix shows and best Netflix movies streaming now to fill out your watchlist.
