Gemma Chan as Maya in The CreatorImage via 20th Century Studios
After the tumultuous production of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, director Gareth Edwards didn’t make another movie for over half a decade. Rogue One was his second major production, following the commercially successful Godzilla reboot, which was released in 2014. Rogue One ran into massive trouble, leading Lucasfilm to essentially redo several portions of it with Tony Gilroy reportedly in charge. The project was rescued from the brink, and it ended up becoming a huge hit. Rogue One grossed more than $1 billion worldwide and received positive reviews, but its success is often attributed to Gilroy, who went on to create what many critics believe is the best Star Wars property outside the original trilogy of movies: the Disney+ series Andor. Edwards made his directorial comeback with an original sci-fi film that tragically underperformed at the box office, but it appears to be redeeming itself on streaming after debuting on Netflix last week.
The movie in question was released theatrically in 2023, and it grossed around $105 million worldwide against a reported budget of $80 million. While Edwards was praised for focusing on an original idea in an era dominated by franchise fare, the movie needed to gross at least $150 million worldwide in order to break even. Studios typically split box-office revenue evenly with exhibitors, in addition to spending millions on marketing. A movie of this size often has a marketing budget as large as its production budget. It didn’t help that Edwards’ comeback film, which starred John David Washington, Gemma Chan, and Ken Watanabe, wasn’t universally acclaimed.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
Gareth Edwards’ Sci-Fi Movie Was Among the Top 10 Hits On Netflix Last Week
We’re talking, of course, about The Creator. The movie now holds a 67% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the consensus reads, “Visually stunning and packed with spectacular set pieces, The Creator serves up timely, well-acted sci-fi that satisfies in the moment even if it lacks substance.” Despite its box-office underperformance, the film found a spot on the Netflix top 10 last week. According to the streamer’s weekly round-up, The Creatoramassed 3.2 million views for the week of June 22 to June 28, finishing ninth on the top 10 rankings. Edwards went on to direct Jurassic World Rebirth, which made nearly $900 million globally against a reported budget of more than $250 million. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
