Avengers: Endgame directors Anthony and Joe Russo's new Netflix sci-fi movie The Electric State is "by far and away the hardest VFX film" they've made so far

Directors Joe and Anthony Russo may have multiple Marvel movies (including two Avengers instalments) under their belt, but even that pales in comparison to the work put into their new Netflix sci-fi film The Electric State.

“It’s the most tech-intensive movie we’ve made,” Joe Russo says in the new issue of SFX magazine, which features the 30 greatest shows of the SFX era on the cover and hits newsstands on February 26.

“The majority of the characters are CG. [We used] a very experienced team of motion-capture players who did a great deal of detail work, developing the nuances and the subtleties and the behaviour that informs the reality of these characters.”

The Electric State, a loose adaptation of Simon Stålenhag’s 2018 graphic novel, features Millie Bobby Brown as Michelle, heading across the American West in search of her long-lost brother. Along the way, she bumps into the likes of smuggler Keats (Chris Pratt) and the robot Herman (Anthony Mackie).

With more than a few Avengers in tow and countless robots scattered across the landscape, it should come as a little surprise that The Electric State required some serious VFX work. While Joe Russo points out its challenges, he’s ultimately pleased with the finished product.

He says, “This is by far and away the hardest VFX film we’ve ever done, but the quality of the VFX in it [is] just superb.”

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The Electric State is on Netflix from March 14. Read more in the latest issue of SFX magazine, which will be available from Wednesday, February 26. Check out the special SFX anniversary cover to look for on newsstands below…

Check out the new issue of SFX! We’re celebrating our 30th anniversary with the 30 greatest shows of the last three decades, as chosen by some of the biggest names in sci-fi and fantasy. On sale 26 February. pic.twitter.com/9myRDfzd3cFebruary 21, 2025