Chris Pratt may be a loyal star of two of the biggest movie franchises of the moment, between Marvel and “Jurassic World,” but even he craves something…
Chris Pratt may be a loyal star of two of the biggest movie franchises of the moment, between Marvel and “Jurassic World,” but even he craves something different sometimes. “I heard the grumblings that people were getting tired of those things,” said Pratt in a recent interview. “I felt inclined to try to do something original.” That’s when Zach Dean’s script for what would become “The Tomorrow War,” which debuts on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, ended up in his hands. It wasn’t based on a toy or a comic book or a theme park ride. There was no “brand” attached to it or even a bestseller sticker. Then titled “Ghost Draft,” it was a dark and emotional sci-fi action epic about a generation of people who get drafted to go 30 years in the future to fight a losing war against aliens. And the production company Skydance was already on board. But they needed a name, and Pratt has found himself in a rare position in Hollywood where his involvement alone can get a movie off the ground. So, he attached himself to star as Dan Forester, a scientist and father of a young daughter, who gets drafted for the dangerous mission. Pratt also decided he’d serve as an executive producer for the first time, too, meaning he got to be involved in casting, script notes and some creative decisions. And there was a problem they needed to deal with immediately: “Ghost Draft” was way too dark. “It was ‘Children of Men’ and then some,” said director Chris McKay. “It made ‘Children of Men’ look like a comedy,” Pratt added. If they were going to get more than $20 million to make it and feasibly attract the whole family to a theater, they’d need to lighten it up a little: Less hopeless dystopia, more “Independence Day.
