While covering New York Comic Con 2025, I had the chance to speak with Mercy director/producer Timur Bekmambetov, producers Charles Roven and Robert Amidon, along with stars Chris Pratt and Kali Reis. We discussed the film’s unique concept, what audiences can expect, using time to create tension, and more.

In the near future, a detective (Chris Pratt) stands on trial accused of murdering his wife. He has 90 minutes to prove his innocence to the advanced A.I. Judge (Rebecca Ferguson) he once championed, before it determines his fate.

I love that you’re at NYCC to share a new project that has such a unique genre. We have sci-fi, crime, and thriller elements. What is it like to introduce your project to the audience here, especially when you have such an incredible fan base from your other work? 
Chris Pratt: It’s really exciting. I mean, over a decade now, I’ve been coming to Comic Con every year, New York, San Diego, talking to the fans, big Marvel fans, big Jurassic Park fans, the Lego movies, and the Super Mario Bros. movies. So it’s like, I’ve been able to connect with people over the course of this time and to bring them something that’s not necessarily in the comic book genre or the fantasy genre, but rather a thriller, it’s really nice. And I hope that audiences who have liked the stuff that I’ve done before are willing to take a chance to go see this. It’s something different, and it’s, like you said, a thriller, it’s edge of your seat, gas pedal turned on from the jump, and it’ll keep you wildly entertained. 

What was most fun about mixing the different genres to create Mercy?
Timur Bekmambetov: It’s the near future, and it’s what’s important for this movie to make things very grounded, very relatable. It’s not 100 years from now, it’s like tomorrow, and to understand what will be our life tomorrow, it’s very, very intriguing for us. I think it will be for the audience, too, but for us, for sure, it was interesting to understand what will happen.
Robert Amidon: It’s a blend of everything, and what’s really unique about this movie is that it has this really high concept of a ticking clock, and our movie is actually all in real time. It’s a 90-minute trial, and it’s all in real time, so it certainly leaves you on the edge of your seat.

Is there a smaller detail, maybe a prop, wardrobe piece, or anything in particular that ended up having more significance to you while playing the character than you were expecting? 
Kali Reis: I would say, yeah, her jacket. Her jacket is like her comfort, and it’s like putting on a costume, almost, but it makes her feel authoritative, it puts her in her place, and she’s reminded of exactly why she’s doing what she’s doing. So I know for me, getting into character, that was her thing; the jacket was the last piece for her.

When you first read the script, what was your reaction, especially to the A.I. judge and how it was used? There are, obviously, so many conversations in today’s world about A.I. and whether it’s dangerous or helpful.
Reis: It’s not a far reach from where we’re kind of headed anyway, and just to take that concept of having an A.I. be a judge and how far is too far, and you can’t replace reality in real people. It’s a tool, but having A.I. and having the idea of your life is in this A.I.’s hands, and it’s either justice or, you know, sometimes things are very subjective, you have to look at circumstances. So with A.I., some things aren’t circumstantial. They just stick to black and white, so it was very intriguing to see where they were going with this. There’s all kinds of twists and turns with this whole entire story, and you get immersed in it. You kind of forget a little bit that she’s A.I. when you’re watching it, and then you realize again. It kind of takes you forward and back, and jolts you right in, so I’m really excited about this.
Bekmambetov: It’s a concept of the movie. If A.I. can forgive, because to be able to judge, you need human qualities. It’s not about logic, because sometimes logic is not exactly what is really happening. Sometimes it’s difficult to analyze. You need to use your intuition, and this is what was interesting for me to understand: how the judge could be designed to be able to understand the person’s personality and the reality.

Amidon: The moment I read the script, I knew there was something special here. I mean, it’s certainly kind of scary because who knows if this is something that could ever, ever happen. I do think with A.I. right now, I don’t think we’d ever go to this place in this movie. It’s certainly like an alternate, kind of scary, dystopian place. A.I. right now is, I think, more of a tool, and what is so special in this movie is that there’s this unique human connection to it, and that’s the most important part to it. And reading the script, that’s what I fell in love with right away.
Charles Roven: Well, when you think about how we are in a world where information is being amassed, right? And then you realize, oh, wait a second, okay, the A.I. judge can get all of that instantaneously. So, really, trials won’t have to last a very long time, will they, because we don’t have to worry about who’s collecting the evidence, and are they collecting the evidence in a prejudicial way or not? Because A.I. is supposed to have no bias. But what if they have bias? Or maybe they don’t have bias. There’s all these wonderful things that you have to think about, which may or may not be in the movie, and if they’re not in the movie, you might say, well, why wasn’t that in the movie?

How many times did you read the script before you understood all of the twists and turns? Were there any parts that you only understood after shooting them?
Reis: When I first read a script, I don’t put myself in it. I just want to read the story for what the story is. But I read it about five different times before I even was like, ‘all right, I understand what’s going on,’ and I always reread stuff before. I want to know where my character is coming from, where they’re going, and one of my favorite things to do when I’m getting into anything, no matter how big or small the role is, is to build character backstories. So I read it, I’m like, ‘All right, what could have motivated her to make this decision?’ And then I’ll go back and read it again. It’s really good to keep rereading, and even when I’m doing a scene, I’ll discover all kinds of new things in real time about my character, and that’s what building the backstory is really important for. So, I’ll read it again, and again, and again until we’re done.
Bekmambetov: The script was very well-written, like a piece of literature. Everyone loved it. When you finish turning the last page, you know that it’s a really great movie, and Marco wrote the story, a very relatable story. For me, there was one twist I added in the movie, but I cannot tell you. But there was enough, and then the one I specifically made. It’s at the end.

What is the importance of having those twists and turns? 
Reis: Well, audiences are very smart. We look very detail-oriented, and myself, being a very detail-oriented Virgo, I want to make sure that if I can see it, audiences, of course, are going to see it. They’re very smart. So having those twists and turns, you know, there’s thousands of millions of movies, films, and stories out there, but you always have to have something special that people are going to remember, and twists and turns that you don’t see coming, you remember those. You go, ‘Damn, I got to watch it again ‘causeI must’ve missed it. How did I miss it?’ So that’s really important, especially as a viewer and a lover of film too. 

Was there a specific challenge that you hadn’t experienced on past projects that you experienced for the first time with Mercy?
Bekmambetov: It’s really difficult to imagine the near future, because when you’re talking about the future, like a hundred years from now, it’s a fairy tale. You can say whatever you want; nobody can check. But this movie is special, because it’s about yesterday, and usually, a movie leaves more than one year, and it’s kind of difficult to try to imagine the near future.

What difference do you think it makes for the audience to experience the story in real time?
Amidon: It makes all of it. I think you feel the tension in a much different way because we’re constantly reminding you how much time there is, so that’s certainly a really special aspect to it.

Do you think it was more important to use that aspect because of the fact that it was a trial?
Amidon: Whoever’s in this program, they certainly have their back against the wall, and in this case, Chris’ character certainly has to prove his way. Maybe he did it, maybe he didn’t, and that’s kind of a unique aspect of it, too.
Roven: There’s no reason for long trials, right? Because the A.I. is judge, jury, and executioner. If that judge is putting together all this information almost instantaneously and then giving you, the person who’s on trial, the ability to refute what the evidence seems to be pointing out, wow, you don’t have a lot of time to figure it out. So it’s kind of scary, but it’s also kind of like, yeah, but then your life doesn’t have to be destroyed because you had to deal with it for years, right? So, there’s good and bad with everything in innovation.

Mercy is now playing in theaters.