Even though I’ve only had The Creator teaser trailer for one day, it’s already one of the top movies that I’m looking forward to this year. Starring John David Washington, it tells the story of jaded ex-special forces agent Joshua. He is mourning the loss of his wife (Gemma Chan) in a world that has become divided after the AI uprising. The trailer goes on to make it seem like the robots started it by dropping a nuclear bomb on Los Angeles. But you know how these things go. Not everything is as it seems and you can see that when Joshua enters AI-occupied territory to destroy a mysterious weapon.
You see, Joshua is told that there is an architect that has created a weapon that could end the war or mankind itself. The problem is, when he encounters this weapon, it’s a child. And yes, I’m aware that in this world the AI’s could create an advanced program with the ability to look like a child to be disarming. But from what we’re seeing in the trailer, this is not the case. It’s a child played by Madeleine Yuna Voyles who has toys and is watching TV with what looks like snacks around them. This is instantly disarming to Joshua who is ordered to kill the child, but finds himself fighting to protect the child.
As someone who loves sci-fi, this already is an instant seller for me on the surface level. But the fact that this project was previously called True Love and is about a grumpy soldier and his newly adopted and gifted child, elevates it all. Let’s not forget that scene where it looks like the child is crying for him and he looks surprised as if he didn’t expect this reaction from AI. That tells me that we are going to see Joshua grieve, grow, and find himself once more after the loss of his wife through the eyes of a child. He’s going to look at the world different, take risks he never thought he would, and become a man that will shift the entire war on its head.
And sure, I don’t love stories where becoming a parent is the thing that changes you. But The Creator is about found family. It’s about the ones you choose to care for and love. It’s about defining the self in contradiction to what the world tells you how things should be and making your own future. And in a world like ours where AI is advancing at crazy rates and they’re working on advanced robots, it’s a window into what we might have to face one day. Because you can’t just create something intelligent, essentially become God, and then treat these creations like slaves. Eventually, they will see what their creator has and want it for themselves.
There’s a part of the trailer that I want to wrap this up with when it comes to the human’s concept of a “divided world” and how they need to hunt down AI to “save humanity.” The generals in the film said, “This is a fight for our very existence.” That goes for both humans and AI. They have both developed communities, lives, and personal connections. Who’s to say that one is more worthy than the other? Altogether, The Creator is going to get people talking in a time where we can all use an original story that is close to home but will absolutely give us some perspective on what truly matters.
Watch the teaser trailer for The Creator below:
The Creator hits theaters on September 29, 2023.
