2023 has been an amazing year for film so far. There have already been a ton of stand-out films in the horror, action, and animated genres. However, the one genre left out of the fun so far this year has been sci-fi. That’ll soon change with the April Mullen-directed film Simulant starring Robbie Amell (The Flash), Jordana Brewster (The Fast and the Furious), Simu Liu (Shang-Chi), and Sam Worthington (Avatar: The Way of Water). The sci-fi thriller produced by Vertical Entertainment is set to release this May. Now the new trailer for Simulant previews this star-studded futuristic thrill ride.
What’s Simulant About?
The film is set in the near future and follows Evan (Amell) who came back to life as an android simulant created for his wife Faye (Brewster). However, Faye doesn’t take too kindly to her dead husband’s replacement. All Evan wants is his “normal” life with his wife back, but to do so the newly minted android seeks out help from a global hacker named Casey (Liu). Casey’s bigger goal is to remove all restrictions applied to simulants' thoughts and capabilities. When this happens he inadvertently unleashes an A.I. uprising and a government manhunt led by Agent Kessler (Worthington) ensues. Kessler will do anything to stop the machines from taking over which includes finding Evan.
The Influences of Simulant
While we’ve had an endless supply of fear-induced sci-fi thrillers over the years, overall the genre in the last decade has felt generic or uninspired. However, Simulant’s trailer does a great job of setting up its world’s dyer mood. This feels like a cross between Blade Runner, Terminator, the video game Watch Dogs, and the underrated Batman: The Animated Series episodes, “Heart of Steel” and “My Silicone Soul”. A.I. uprisings are nothing new for the genre, but in our real-world conversation, fear of this adaptive programming has been at an all-time high. A.I. art and writing for instance have quickly become a part of our everyday lives. This has left a lot of people understandably anxious. Simulant looks to capitalize on this fear and the thought of being replaced by a robotic duplicate is an endlessly scary thought as old as time. It also just helps that Mullen’s direction looks very compelling, and this cast is filled with talent. Each cast member, whether it be Worthington with Avatar or Brewster with the underrated sci-fi horror gem The Faculty, is well-versed in this genre. Because of that, it’s going to be exciting to see what they bring to this eerily relevant premise.
RELATED: 10 Best Sci-Fi Movies Under 90 Minutes, Ranked by Rotten Tomatoes
When Does Simulant Release?
Simulant releases exclusively first on DIRECTV on May 5, 2023, before hitting theaters and On Demand services a month later on June 2, 2023. While genre fans anxiously wait for another A.I. uprising and to ponder the question of what it means to be human, you can view the new trailer for the sci-fi thriller down below.
