Watching the trailer for The Creator, it’s reasonable to be reminded of both The Mandalorian and The Last Of Us. After all, the movie and the two shows all center on protagonists who become reluctant father figures to wards who could potentially change the world/universe. It’s a fair comparison to make when examining the modern pop culture landscape, but the truth is that the roots of the story in the upcoming release go far deeper into film history, as one of writer/director Gareth Edwards’ main sources of inspiration in the making of his sci-fi blockbuster was the beloved Japanese film series Lone Wolf And Cub.
At last week’s San Diego Comic-Con, I had the opportunity to sit down with Edwards to discuss his new movie, and I brought up the similarities between The Creator, The Mandalorian and The Last Of Us. I referenced the dynamic being similar to Lone Wolf And Cub, and the filmmaker explained that those films were front of mind in the making of his fourth feature and that he has been wanting to tell a story like this one for a long time. Said Edwards,
Lone Wolf and Cub was definitely on my mind. I saw it around about 2000 or so. I caught it late night one night on Channel 4 or something in the UK and was like, 'What the hell is this?!' I saw one shot and it just was like this old ancient warrior and a little child and I had to get into it and understand. I got all the books and stuff. And then I always wanted to make that kind of relationship dynamic.
Created by writer Kazuo Koike and artist Goseki Kojima, Lone Wolf And Cub was originally created as a manga series that was first published in September 1970, and six feature-length adaptations were released between 1972 and 1974 starring Tomisaburo Wakayama as the warrior Ogami Ittō and Tomikawa Akihiro as his young son, Daigoro. In the story, Ogami Ittō is a falsely accused shogun executioner who becomes an assassin and seeks vengeance against those who disgraced him.
The influence of Lone Wolf And Cub on pop culture is widespread, from The Professional to Road To Perdition to Logan and beyond. The Creator is obviously not a direct copy of the classic samurai story, with John David Washington’s Joshua taking care of an artificial intelligence weapon that could potentially end humanity, but the father/child dynamic is the key to it all.
Gareth Edwards has been wanting to make a movie like The Creator for more than two decades, but he added that the film has now come together at a specific and proper time. He’s taking into consideration where he is in his own life emotionally, and used it to fuel his work. He continued,
I think I'm at that age probably where like when you're young, you think of films about ‘Boy Meets Girl,’ and now I'm at that age of like reluctant father where like, 'What is this all about? Why am I trying to do anything?' It's really about the next generation to some extent.
The filmmaker added that he can relate to Joshua’s plight in The Creator… but his personal circumstances are certainly quite different than what his characters are dealing with. He added,
It's a really, really twisted father-child story in that basically this little kid to John David's character is Hitler, and you can stop World War II if you just kill this kid. So his whole thing is he's taking this kid on this journey ultimately to be executed, and it starts to make him question everything.
Starring John David Washington, Gemma Chan, Ken Watanabe, Sturgill Simpson, Allison Janney, Ralph Ineson and Madeleine Yuna Voyles, The Creator is set to be released on September 29 in theaters everywhere. Stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for more from my interview with Gareth Edwards, and preview all of the films set to be released in the remaining months of the year with our 2023 Movie Release Calendar.
And for those who find themselves now curious about Lone Wolf And Cub, the Criterion Collection Blu-ray set is now available for half price at Barnes & Noble as part of their biannual Criterion sale.
