The highly anticipated cast of The Russo Brothers’ upcoming Netflix film The Electric State is expanding in a big way, with Variety reporting that Giancarlo Esposito, Ke Huy Quan, Anthony Mackie, and Billy Bob Thornton have all joined the cast.
The four actors have joined the upcoming film that’s set in an alternative America in the mid-1990s. They’ll act alongside previously announced stars Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt, Stanley Tucci, and Jason Alexander in the film, making for a star-studded ensemble. Quan will also be replacing his Everything Everywhere All At Once co-star Michelle Yeoh, who reportedly had to drop out of the film due to scheduling issues.
According to Variety’s report, Esposito will play an antagonist known as “the Marshall,” a robotic drone that’s manned by Esposito and is hunting down Brown’s character. Quan will play a doctor that Brown’s character needs to find, while Mackie and Thornton will both voice sentient robots in the film, with Mackie’s being a sidekick to Chris Pratt and Thornton voicing a “key figure in the civil war.”
Based on the 2018 novel by Simon Stålenhag, The Electric State tells the story of a teenage girl and her robot companion as they travel throughout America looking for her younger brother. Directors Joe and Anthony Russo will helm the project from a screenplay written by Avengers: Endgame scribes Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. The project was previously set up at Universal Pictures.
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The Russo Brothers will also be serving as producers along with Mike Larocca through their AGBO banner. Executive producers are Angela Russo-Otstot, Jake Aust, Geoff Haley, Markus, and McFeely, with Chris Castaldi and Patrick Newall serving as producers.
The Electric State has been in development since 2017 and was originally set to be developed by IT duo Andy and Barbara Muschietti, with Andy Muschietti serving as the director. However, Andy Muschietti decided to give up his directorial duties on the project in order to shift his focus on Warner Bros.’ highly-anticipated Flash movie.
