Russo Brothers Reveal Exciting Plans for ‘The Electric State’ Franchise Expansion!

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Marvel alums Joe and Anthony Russo have some bright ideas on how to build out The Electric State franchise, but it doesn’t sound like a movie sequel is part of their plans. The sci-fi adventure, starring high-profile actors Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt, as well as an all-star supporting cast, was savaged by critics ahead of its release on Netflix. However, the damning reviews seemingly sparked widespread interest as the movie quickly surged to the top of the streaming charts, leaving audiences to wonder whether the story could expand in the future.

Now that the Russo brothers have brought Simon Stålenhag’s illustrated novel to the screen, it seems like they are keen to further explore the retro-futuristic world of The Electric State. Joe shed some light on the possibility of a sequel while speaking to Entertainment Weekly, explaining that he and his brother intend to expand the property with a possible television series, in addition to the tie-in mobile video game, The Electric State: Kid Cosmo, releasing on Mar. 18, just four days after the movie’s Netflix debut, but there are currently no plans for a sequel.

“We love immersive worlds, so we always try to build worlds that have the capability for future storytelling, because that’s what we like. There is a game currently that’s being released with the movie, and we’re in discussions around a potential show idea that could work for it, but no sequel conversations as of yet.”

The Electric State follows Michelle (Millie Bobby Brown), an orphaned teenager, navigating her way through a version of the 1990s where sentient cartoon-like robots live in exile after a failed uprising against humans. She joins forces with a smuggler called Keats (Chris Pratt) and his robot sidekick Herman (voiced by Anthony Mackie) on a search and rescue mission after discovering that her younger brother she believed to be dead is possibly alive. While it works as a self-contained story, the movie also leaves a live wire for a sequel that could pick up on certain character beats, and it seems like the Oscar-winning sibling directors behind the extremely divisive film are not unplugging entirely from the idea of continuing the adventure.

‘The Electric State’ Netflix Release Illuminates Critic-Audience Divide

At the time of writing, The Electric State has an abysmal 14% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes, with reviewers panning the picture for lacking spark, with MovieWeb’s own Matt Mahler pegging part of its failure to its use of style over substance, explaining, “the logic and context of this world are so poorly developed that it makes the robots and their storyline almost impossible to enjoy.” However, as predicted, the movie shot to the top of Netflix’s streaming charts in various territories following its release on Mar. 14 and has continued to generate a fair bit of buzz.

While some people likely opted to watch the movie out of curiosity after its critical slating, The Electric State appears to be pleasing audiences far more than critics, as it currently sits with a 75% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes’ Popcornmeter. Among those reviews, the movie received praise for its high production value and richly stunning visuals (it did have a reported $320 million budget, after all), making it an enjoyable piece of escapist entertainment for some. The only way to find out which camp you fall in is to give The Electric State a watch now that it’s available to stream.

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2025-03-17 15:41