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Murder Drones: Encryption is a 2039 black horror comedy science-fiction animated film based on the fan-story Encryption. The sequel to Murder Drones: Descent (2037), it is the seventh Murder Drones film to be created by DreamWorks Animation. It was directed by Michael Dante DiMartino, Bosook "Bo" Coburn and Bridget Underwood, produced by Luke & Kevin Lerdwichagul, and written by Joe Robert Cole, Erik Sommers, Asher Smithers and Liam Vickers. The film stars Joe Locke as Ianto, Zeno Robinson as Asher, Erika Henningsen as Blue, and Bella Ramsey as Remi, with other returning cast members including Hudson Thames, Jason Griffith, Joseph Anoa'i, Lee Majdoub, Burn Gorman, and Dominique Provost-Chalkley, with Sterling K. Brown and Trey Parker joining the cast.
Before production began, it was announced that Descent directors Jeff Fowler and Dylan Holmes Williams would not be returning for Encryption, though the film's third director, Bridget Underwood, remained onboard. This marks the first time someone has directed more than one film in the series. A new director, Bosook "Bo" Coburn, was later announced to be joining the project alongside Underwood, having previously worked together on the Disney Channel series The Owl House. Later on, it was announced that Michael Dante DiMartino would be returning to the franchise as a director for Encryption, having previously worked on Elliott Manor as a screenwriter. Brandon Rogers originally portrayed Serial Designation X in Descent, though he did not return to voice him in Encryption due to scheduling issues, resulting in Sterling K. Brown joining the cast. During production, several reports stated that South Park co-creator Trey Parker had joined the cast in an undisclosed role, which ignited some controversy due to Parker's heavily explicit style of comedy. Parker's involvement was confirmed by Glitch Productions in January 2039. The song chosen for the film's intro scene was "Bulletproof Love" by American rock band Pierce the Veil, while the song chosen for the closing credits was "i" by American rapper Kendrick Lamar.
Murder Drones: Encryption premiered at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City on October 9th, 2039, and was released in the United States on October 14th. Alike its predecessors, the film received critical acclaim, with praise going to the performances of Locke, Robinson, Henningsen, Thames and Brown, as well as the direction, writing, and visual effects. It grossed $2.72 billion on a $230 million budget, becoming the highest-grossing film of 2039 and the third-highest-grossing film of all time.
The next film in the series would be Murder Drones: Absolution - Part Two, released in 2041 and directed by Asher Smithers and Dan Trachtenberg.
Voice cast[]
- Joe Locke as Ianto, the increasingly quiet and traumatised Haywire Solver-wielding drone who is still grieving the death of Silvester.
- Zeno Robinson as Asher, the redeemed original wielder of the Haywire Solver.
- Erika Henningsen as Blue, the wielder of the Supernova Solver.
- Bella Ramsey as Remi, a small yet agile scavenger who, depending on the climate, can transform from Worker to Disassembly.
- Hudson Thames as Serial Designation S, a surprisingly timid Disassembly Drone and Blue's former partner.
- Jason Griffith as Solaris, a Repair Drone who can run at supersonic speeds.
- Joseph Anoa'i as Chief, Ianto's father.
- Lee Majdoub as Artemis, Ianto's estranged uncle.
- Burn Gorman as Hunter, a human military general who allied himself with Artemis.
- Dominique Provost-Chalkley as Serial Designation C, one of the Disassembly Drones who killed Asher's mother.
- Sterling K. Brown as Serial Designation X, the Disassembly Drone who performed the killing blow on Asher's mother who acts as the film's main antagonist. Brown replaces Brandon Rogers in the role.
- Trey Parker as Lyndon, the traitorous new head of the Worker Defence Force who ousted Chief from the role.
- Mae Whitman as Uzi Doorman, the one who initially defeated the AbsoluteSolver. Whitman replaces Miranda Cosgrove as the voice of Uzi.
- Jason Schwartzman as Serial Designation N, one of the Disassembly Drones. Schwartzman replaces Ryan Reynolds, who did not return due to scheduling issues, as the voice of N.
- Matthew Rhys & Tamsin Greig as Thomas and Laura, Asher's biological parents.
- Adam Copeland as Switchblade, a human mercenary who acts as both Asher and Lyra's guardian.
Additionally, the voice of a young Blue is provided by Dana Terrace, who had worked with directors Coburn and Underwood on The Owl House. A younger Asher is voiced by Christian Convery. In a flashback sequence, David Thewlis reprises the role of James Elliott, and Zazie Beetz returns as Serial Designation J for the first time in ten years. Xochitl Gomez returns as Rose and her Void counterpart from previous instalments in the series, while new character Celeste is voiced by Luci Christian. One-Shot Solver wielder Stahli returns to the franchise, now voiced by Christopher Wehkamp.
Benedict Cumberbatch and Tati Gabrielle return as Slasher and Void Allie respectively, while the new characters Lilith and Eve are voiced by Gillian Jacobs and Aubrey Plaza. In a post-credits sequence, the character ERR.Z-KILL appears, voiced by Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
Reception[]
Box office[]
Murder Drones: Encryption grossed $1.591 billion in the United States and Canada, and $1.129 billion in other territories, for a worldwide gross of $2.72 billion.
On a budget of $230 million (lower than the previous film), Murder Drones: Encryption was projected to gross $160-195 million in its five-day opening weekend. It went approximately $25 million over projection, grossing an astounding $220 million over the five-day period, and topped the box office by a landslide.
Internationally the film opened in different countries with different dates, with Australia being the earliest country to release it. In every single one of the countries it opened in, it topped the box office, pure box office domination. The film was not released in the Middle East and North Africa due to its inclusion of LGBTQ+ actors and staff.
Critical response[]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 96% of 331 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "The Murder Drones series continues to pick up steam with Encryption, as stellar performances from Joe Locke and Sterling K. Brown take centre-stage in what could be the best film in the series." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 99 out of 100, based on 71 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a rare average grade of "A+" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled at PostTrak gave it a 93% overall positive score, with 100% saying they would "definitely recommend" it.