Stanley Tucci is no stranger to epic blockbusters that touch on relevant themes, such as The Hunger Games, and it sounds like Netflix's The Electric State is going to be one of them.
Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, the new sci-fi is an adaptation of Simon Stålenhag's graphic novel of the same name. It's set in an alternate '90s following a war between humanity and the robots they created.
Stanley Tucci plays tech entrepreneur Ethan Skate who has become a prominent figure in the uneasy peace that has followed. His character, like the majority in the movie, is not based on a character in the original story.
Talking exclusively to Digital Spy following The Electric State panel at MCM Comic Con on Saturday (October 26), Tucci said his way into the movie wasn't just the script, but real-life figures as well.
Related: Joe Russo addresses The Electric State changes
"Over the decades we've seen these guys pop up and some of them have lasted and have had a very positive impact. I mean Steve Jobs being one of them," he explained.
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"I mean it's kind of incredible that the concept of having a personal computer and then it just gets smaller and shrinking, and shrinks and shrinks and shrinks. I mean now you need that [points to phone], that's all you need to do anything.
"For me it was all there in the script and then as we're doing it, you're changing stuff. You're changing the script – should we say that or should we do that?"
Joe Russo compared Ethan Skate to Charles Foster Kane (of Citizen Kane) in terms of him being an innovator in this world.
"He's the father of invention who invents out of trauma and so he's a complicated character because he's trying to solve important emotional issues," he continued.
Related: First trailer for Netflix's The Electric State
"But when that solution is wrapped up in commercialism and economics and all the things go along with the cost of supporting the technology, the vision that you have, they can go wrong. They can go to a darker place."
Tucci added: "Foisting your solution for you onto other people is like when someone says, 'Oh I have a bad stomach' and someone goes, 'Well why don't you take this?'. It could work but that's a different stomach."
Russo also spoke to Digital Spy about the changes made from the graphic novel to adapt it for the screen.
The Electric State is released on Netflix on March 14, 2025.
Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
