Atlas director teases influences behind the Jennifer Lopez-led sci-fi movie, from Titanfall to Castaway

Jennifer Lopez’s new Netflix sci-fi movie Atlas was loosely inspired by Titanfall, like many assumed after the mech suit-filled first trailer debuted online a few weeks back. According to director Brad Peyton, though, it’s more “Castaway in Space” than first-person shooter video game…

“Science-fiction is something I’ve been passionate about since I was a kid,” the filmmaker, whose previous works include San Andreas and Rampage, tells Total Film in our new issue out on Thursday April 25, which features Furiosa on the cover. “I’m one of those people that’s seen all the Rutger Hauer movies that no one else has seen – I’m that guy. To me, science-fiction is hallowed ground. And because of that, I don’t want to retread what’s been done well before.

“So that was Avatar, Aliens… Titanfall, a few other old movies I loved from the 80s – and then to make sure the scale of mine was different,” Peyton continues. “The shape of mine was different. The movement was different. I wanted this to be its own thing.”