Five Things We Learned At “The Tomorrow War” Junket

Amazon’s The Tomorrow War, is their biggest original film to date. It is their answer to the big-budget epic science-fiction action spectacles we have come to expect from the Summer months. Yet, it will be streaming at home for you to enjoy on July 2nd, instead of having to haul the entire family to the movie theater. Here is what you can expect from The Tomorrow War:

In The Tomorrow War, the world is stunned when a group of time travelers arrive from the year 2051 to deliver an urgent message: Thirty years in the future mankind is losing a global war against a deadly alien species. The only hope for survival is for soldiers and civilians from the present to be transported to the future and join the fight. Among those recruited is high school teacher and family man Dan Forester (Chris Pratt). Determined to save the world for his young daughter, Dan teams up with a brilliant scientist (Yvonne Strahovski) and his estranged father (J.K. Simmons) in a desperate quest to rewrite the fate of the planet.

The film stars Chris Pratt, Yvonne Strahovski, Edwin Hodge, Betty Gilpin, Sam Richardson, Keith Powers, Jasmine Mathews and J.K. Simmons and written by Zach Dean and directed by Chris McKay. We were lucky enough to attend the press junket for The Tomorrow War and wanted to give you the inside scoop on some exciting things you should look out for in the film.

THE TOMORROW WAR WILL HAVE A STRONG EMOTIONAL CORE

It was very important for director Chris McKay, that the themes about what we owe to the future was resonant throughout the film. He wanted his movie to be like John Carpenter mixed with John Cassavetes; science-fiction mixed with heart and thoughtful themes. Screenwriter Zach Dean said that the film was always supposed to be science-fiction dealing with more intimate themes. Rather than going in to war because of patriotism, these people are going into battle to save their kids’ future.

You can also see this strong emotional core in The Tomorrow War through the lens of Dan’s (Chris Pratt) relationship with his father, played by J.K. Simmons. The filmmakers say that the movie really makes you look at all-sides of a family, including every generation. Society must look at what our generations had to go through before us, to be able to survive the hurdles of what’s ahead.

JASMINE MATHEWS SAID THAT THIS FILM GAVE HER HOPE

Jasmine Mathews who plays Lt,. Hart said that The Tomorrow War’s themes gave her a sense of hope, especially through the hard times we all had last year. She had this to say:

“I think I would love for people to take that message of — we have this idea of everyday regular people coming together dedicated to one mission, and everyone has their purpose. Everyone has something that they can do to help save the world. It’s this idea that it’s going to take all of us together, focused and dedicated, to save this world and make it a better place. I just love that idea, the unity aspect of it.”

The cast and crew also agreed that the film is so resonant because of how we have had to come together during the pandemic and where we should go, after this catastrophic event.

THE CREATURE DESIGN COMES FROM A LOVE FOR H.P. LOVECRAFT

Director Chris McKay says that he wanted his creatures to look just as good the ones from Alien and Predator… just as disturbing and jarring, but, not resemble them at all. His inspiration really came from his love for H.P. Lovecraft, with the cosmic technical horror design. McKay says that his creatures should look ancient, and even more terrifyingly, they should appear hungry. He wanted their texture to really come through on screen and to give them offensive weapons like tentacles and spikes. Pretty much, what we should expect from the creatures of The Tomorrow War, is that they have been fully realized.

J.K. SIMMONS GOT RIPPED FOR HIS ROLE

The cast and the crew could not stop gushing about how muscular J.K. Simmons got for his role of Slade. The Oscar-winning character actor trained day in and day out with Pratt, to get the physique he has in the film. The stunts in this movie were intense and his character of Slade is ex-military, so it was imperative that Simmons got into shape for the part. Chris Pratt had this to say to J.K. Simmons:

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve talked about J.K.’s arms on this, and I am all for it. That was the two guns salute, man. You look freakin’ jacked in this movie. It’s so cool.”

THERE IS HOPE FOR A TOMORROW WAR SEQUEL

Director Chris McKay says that they had a bunch of great design teams working on some “really wonderful, interesting stuff”. So, he alluded to the fact that they would love to do another Tomorrow War movie because they have so many designs that haven’t been used yet. All of this extra material could really fill out many other worlds. If everything works out the way Amazon is hoping, The Tomorrow War could start a whole franchise for the streaming giant.

The Tomorrow War will be streaming globally on Friday, July 2nd.

Are you looking forward to The Tomorrow War? Do you think it will be the original big-budget blockbuster we’ve been waiting for?

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