Is ‘The Electric State’ Based on a Book?

Three years after their last feature film, “The Gray Man,” premiered on Netflix and one year before they make their return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, directors Anthony and Joe Russo are back. Their latest offering, “The Electric State,” is a sci-fi blockbuster with a hefty price tag. The film, which continues the Russos’ ongoing creative partnership with Netflix, has a reported budget of $320 million — making it one of the most expensive movies ever made.

Only films based on pre-existing pieces of intellectual property typically get that kind of financial support in Hollywood these days. Is “The Electric State” based on a book, though? Here is what you should know about the new, expensive Netflix film’s origins.

Is “The Electric State” based on a book?

Yes! “The Electric State” is not, however, based on a traditional book. It is, instead, loosely based on a 2018 illustrated novel by acclaimed Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag. The novel is comprised of paragraphs of text and accompanying illustrations that together tell a complete, cohesive dystopian sci-fi story.

“The Electric State” is notably not the first piece of Stålenhag’s work that has been adapted by Hollywood. Amazon Prime Video’s 2020 sci-fi series, “Tales From the Loop,” was also inspired by an art book by Stålenhag.

What is “The Electric State” about?

The original “Electric State” novel is set in the late 1990s and follows a teenage girl and her robot as they embark on a journey across America’s West Coast in search of her long-lost brother in an alternate reality where the world was ravaged and transformed into a dystopian wasteland by advanced technology. The new Netflix adaptation maintains its source material’s alternate ’90s setting and it similarly follows a young woman as she sets off with a robot to try to find her brother, whom she previously believed to be dead.

Who adapted “The Electric State”?

The screenplay for “The Electric State” was penned by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. The two writers are frequent collaborators of the Russo Brothers, having previously penned and worked on the scripts for “The Gray Man,” “Avengers: Endgame,” “Avengers: Infinity War,” “Captain America: Civil War” and “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.”

Markus and McFeely are no strangers to high-profile adaptations, either. Indeed, their pre-Marvel Cinematic Universe writing credits include 2005’s “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” and its two sequels, 2008’s “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” and 2010’s “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.”

Who stars in “The Electric State”?

The cast of “The Electric State” includes Millie Bobby Brown (“Stranger Things”), Chris Pratt (“Guardians of the Galaxy”), Ke Huy Quan (“Everything Everywhere All At Once”), Stanley Tucci (“Conclave”), Woody Norman (“C’mon, C’mon”), Giancarlo Esposito (“Breaking Bad”) and Jason Alexander (“Seinfeld”). 

Woody Harrelson (“True Detective”), Anthony Mackie (“Captain America: Brave New World”), Brian Cox (“Succession”), Jenny Slate (“It Ends With Us”), Alan Tudyk (“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”), Hank Azaria (“The Birdcage”) and Colman Domingo (“Sing Sing”) also provide the voices of certain characters throughout the movie.

What are critics saying about the film?

Unfortunately, critics are not raving about “The Electric State.” The film has received largely negative reviews in the days leading up to its Netflix premiere. It currently holds a rotten score on Rotten Tomatoes, and in TheWrap’s review of the film, writer Matt Goldberg called it a “bizarre Spielberg riff” that is too “gleefully soulless” to replicate the humanity of its best influences.

Watch the trailer:

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