In The Tomorrow War , an upcoming military science fiction film, Chris Pratt plays Dan Forester, a Former Delta Force Operator going to the future, 2051, to fight deadly aliens and save the planet for his daughter, Muri (Ryan Kiera Armstrong). The film directed by Chris McKay, has some hair-raising action sequences.
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Talking of the biggest adrenalin rush at a virtual press conference, the Jurassic World actor said, “There was so much to choose from. Off the top of my head, there is a great sequence when we make the jump to 2051. There is this transition where we fall from the sky in Miami to land in a pool. There was some serious water work. We got to jump off of this high dive that we built out of a fork lift into the water. The camera followed us down and there were stunt people jumping down and landing on top of you forcing you under water. That sequence probably took two or three days. You are trying to get smashed into the ground, come up and struggle into a close up underwater. It was a lot of fun.”
Unlike the real world, where youngsters are thrown into battle, in The Tomorrow War , it is the older people who are sent to fight the aliens. “Everyone who goes forward into the future is over the age of 30 and everyone who comes back to train us is under 30 because you can’t live in both timelines at the same time. They are drafting a crop of people who are going to be dead in 2051. You are dealing with people who are making life decisions based not on the life that they could lead, but rather the world that they are leaving for their children. My character, Dan is doing this to protect his family. It is different to think about people being drafted away from their children rather than children being drafted away from their parents.”
In the film, Pratt plays Dan Forester, a Former Delta Force Operator going to the future to fight deadly aliens
While trying to be the best dad he can be, Dan has a fractious relationship with his father, Slade played by J.K. Simmons. “Dan is not happy with his station and the events in his life. He is estranged from his father who he blames for everything. Dan realizes through the course of this story, that he has more similarities with his father than he realized, and in coming to grips with that, gets to a place of grace, acceptance and forgiveness for his father. That is a pivotal moment that comes in adulthood.”
Pratt says, “We look at our parents as these deities and then come to a moment where we realize, ‘Oh, wow that was just a kid who had a kid.’ When you realise that, you can forgive them for their shortcomings.”
The SFX-heavy film called for a great deal green screen work. Admitting it is liberating not having to work with a prop, Pratt says, “You basically force the animators to make your choices work. If you have a real tentacle, you are limited to how you can move it, but if you have a fake one, you can move it anyway you like. You can imagine an animator pulling their hair out saying, ‘Oh, great. I have to make that work somehow’.”
Drolly elaborating, Pratt says, “I have had my fair share of running from and fighting against creatures that aren’t there. You could have a whole podcast episode about the way to achieve it. It is a combination of various things you are going to look at, whether it is a tennis ball or the guy named Troy who is seven feet tall and very scary. You look at Troy and think, ‘That is certainly a person who could lift me up and break me in half.’ He becomes significantly less scary when he is put in a giant grey leotard.”
Acting opposite or fighting something that is not there is particularly embarrassing, Pratt says. “You put your trust in the director that they will not allow it to become a viral YouTube sensation.”
The Tomorrow War premieres on July 2, 2021 on Amazon Prime Video
