The director of Netflix’s Outside The Wire revealed how he made Anthony Mackie into a one-man war machine. Swedish filmmaker Mikael Hafstrom sat down with CNET to discuss the movie and the wild effects that lend it that sci-fi look. Now, the director has worked with Hollywood heavy hitters like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone in the past. But, transforming a smaller hero like Mackie into this wild cyborg was going to be an interesting challenge. In the film, the Marvel Studios star actually pulls off a ton of stunts and he conveys that machine-like demeanor in the way he addresses his companion. But, the director has to help press things forward in that regard too. It’s important to note that the android walks among the human soldiers just the same. But, when things begin to hit the fan, there’s nobody you want to be there more.
“He is a bio technical prototype. He looks like you and me,” Håfström explained. “One of the biggest jobs, obviously, was to try to figure out exactly what he looked like. What his interior looked like. I don’t know how many versions we went through to find something that didn’t feel overdone, but was also visually interesting. And hopefully it’s something that we haven’t seen in other movies.”
Here’s the official synopsis for Outside the Wire:
“In 2036, America serves as a peacekeeping force and human troops on both sides are supported by robot combatants called Gumps and drone pilots monitoring skirmishes from thousands of miles away. But after headstrong drone pilot Lieutenant Harp (Damson Idris) disobeys a direct order to intervene in a conflict, the Army deploys him to a military outpost to confront the human costs of his button-pushing. Harp’s expectations of guarding a fence are upended when his new commanding officer Captain Leo (Anthony Mackie) announces plans to infiltrate the demilitarized zone and apprehend Viktor Koval (Pilou Asbæk), a warlord who intends to launch a network of dormant nuclear weapons. Soon, Harp learns that his theoretical experience as a drone pilot means little out on the battlefield under enemy attack – especially after discovering that Leo is an A.I.-enhanced supersoldier whose strength, speed and demand for results promise to turn his real-world education into a trial by fire.”
Outside the Wire is currently streaming on Netflix.
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