The Electric State: Millie Bobby Brown, a giant robot, and 1990s nostalgia walk into a Dystopia (trailer).
Netflix has dropped the trailer for The Electric State, and folks, it looks like someone took Stranger Things, smashed it into The Iron Giant, sprinkled in a bit of Mad Max, and then let Chris Pratt wisecrack his way through the wreckage. Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo (Avengers: Infinity War, Endgame), this sci-fi spectacle is set in an alternate 1990s where technology has gone full Skynet, but instead of Arnold Schwarzenegger time-traveling to kill people, we get a teenage girl, a robot companion, and… Jason Alexander?
Based on Simon Stålenhag’s beautifully bleak illustrated novel, The Electric State follows Michelle (Millie Bobby Brown), an orphan wandering a desolate, tech-ravaged America with her trusty robot sidekick, Skip. She’s looking for her long-lost brother, Christopher (Woody Norman), while the world around her looks like a RadioShack exploded and nobody bothered to clean up. Along the way, they meet a cast of characters that can only be described as “the greatest Hollywood bingo card of all time.”
Chris Pratt plays Keats, Michelle’s snarky adult companion, proving once again that if you need someone to deliver quips while dodging apocalypse-grade danger, he’s your guy. Ke Huy Quan joins the adventure, Stanley Tucci plays someone mysterious (because he always does), and Giancarlo Esposito is—shocker—a menacing authority figure. Oh, and Woody Harrelson is apparently voicing a robot named Mr. Peanut, which is either the best or worst casting decision ever made.
Now, if you’re a fan of Stålenhag’s original book, you might be scratching your head at some of these details. That’s because the Russos, in their infinite Marvel Cinematic Universe wisdom, decided the book’s quiet, haunting dystopia wasn’t movie enough. So, they went full Hollywood, added a “robots demanding equal rights” subplot, and basically reworked the whole thing into Wall-E meets Blade Runner—if both were directed by Michael Bay.
Anthony Russo himself explained this creative liberty at New York Comic Con, saying that while they found the book “fascinating,” they felt it needed more… stuff. Which, if we translate from Hollywood-ese, means: We wanted to make a blockbuster with explosions, so we did that instead.
Despite all this, The Electric State still looks like an absolute spectacle. The visuals are pure, neon-drenched, retro-futuristic eye candy, and Alan Silvestri (Back to the Future, Avengers) is doing the score—so even if the plot veers off the rails, at least it’ll sound amazing.
Plus, Netflix is throwing in a tie-in video game (The Electric State: Kid Cosmo) so you can relive Michelle and Christopher’s childhood inside an in-universe mobile game. That’s either a genius bit of immersive world-building or just another way for Netflix to make sure you never log off their platform. Either way, resistance is futile.
Love it or hate it, The Electric State is bound to be one of the most talked-about sci-fi films of 2025. Whether it turns out to be a visually stunning, thought-provoking masterpiece or just another case of Hollywood Adaptation Syndrome (see: World War Z, I Am Legend), one thing is certain: Netflix is all in, and you’re going to end up watching it.
The Electric State lands on Netflix on March 14, 2025. Until then, cue up your 1990s dystopian playlist, dust off your Tamagotchi, and get ready to question everything you know about cinematic adaptation.
