With Sam Worthington (Avatar: The Way of Water), Jordana Brewster (Fast X), and Simu Liu (Marvel’s Shang-Chi), the indie sci-fi thriller Simulant (formerly Hello Stranger) boasts stars from some of the biggest franchises in the world. Directed by actress-turned-filmmaker April Mullen, the Blade Runner-esque story centers on a humanoid A.I. who becomes more human-like to win back the woman he loves, a widow whose dead husband he resembles. But this also places him in the crosshairs of an agent tasked with stopping A.I. from gaining consciousness.
The cast is all-around top notch with Robbie Amell (Upgrade) and Alicia Sanz co-starring.
Coinciding with the trailer’s release, Mullen had this to say about her film: “In a very real near future, where technological advancements force us to reckon with our conceptual limitations around life, death and consciousness, how do we as humans push ourselves into the next stage of evolution?”
Mullen has directed multiple films in her career, with the most recent being 2020 thriller Wander with Tommy Lee Jones and Aaron Eckhart.
Simulant will open in theaters and VOD on June 2nd.
With androids (SIMS) & humans coexisting, it centers around Faye (Jordana Brewster) who has already pulled the plug on her late husband, now she can’t bring herself to do the same to Evan (Robbie Amell), his android counterpart. Instead of deactivating Evan, Faye sets him up to live illegally on his own. While there he meets Casey (Simu Liu), a brilliant programmer who helps him become more human in order to win Faye back. Unbeknownst to Evan, his new friend is wanted for questioning by a determined Artificial Intelligence Compliance Enforcement (AICE) agent (Sam Worthington). Evan has to win over Faye’s heart before they are discovered and he loses everything.
