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Murder Drones: Fatality Complex is a 2035 black horror comedy science-fiction animated film based on the fan-story of the same name. It is the fourth Murder Drones film to be created by DreamWorks Animation, acting as a spin-off to Murder Drones: Absolution. It was directed by Edgar Wright, based on the story by TheAinley, and was written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers. It stars Joe Locke as the ever-curious yet quiet drone Ianto, with other cast members including Caleb McLaughlin, Jenna Ortega, Leah Clark, Allanah Fitzgerald, Joseph Anoa'i, and Steve Blum, while Zeno Robinson, Trina Nishimura and Bella Ramsey all reprise their roles as Asher, Blue and Remi from Absolution. Notably, Fatality Complex is the first film of the series to not have any inclusion of Murder Drones creator Liam Vickers, as he went on a break upon completing his involvement with the unrelated film Murder Drones: Dark Horizons.
After the outstanding critical and commercial success of Absolution, a spin-off set in the same continuity was announced in 2033. Initially, Kenji Nagasaki, who is best known for directing the anime adaptation of My Hero Academia alongside three of its four films, was attached to direct the film, though he was ultimately unavailable due to scheduling conflicts. It was later announced that Edgar Wright, best known for directing Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) and Last Night in Soho (2021), would be directing the film. Notably, the film is the first DreamWorks production to be given a 15 rating in the United Kingdom. The opening title song of the same name was performed by Bea Miller, while Sheryl Crow's 1997 song "Tomorrow Never Dies" was used both within the film and as the end title song.
Murder Drones: Fatality Complex premiered at the Co-op Live in Manchester on July 20th, 2035, and was theatrically released in the United States on August 4th. The film received universal praise for its screenplay, animation, emotional weight, and the performances of Locke and McLaughlin. It grossed $1.71 billion worldwide against a production budget of $250 million, making it the highest-grossing film of 2035 and the highest grossing Murder Drones film to that point.
Voice cast[]
- Joe Locke as Ianto, a quiet and curious Worker Drone afflicted with an uncontrollable variant of the AbsoluteSolver who faces prejudice at the hands of a group of homophobic bullies.
- Caleb McLaughlin as Silvester ("Sil"), the only real friend (later boyfriend) of Ianto who is the top student of the class and seen as a little bit of a nerd.
- Jenna Ortega as Erica, a bully-turned-ally and later a treasured best friend to Ianto and Silvester.
- Leah Clark as Kizzy, the best friend of Lizzy who secretly conspires with Cyn. Fatality Complex creator TheAinley hand-picked Clark for the role, as Kizzy was designed to possess similar personality traits to My Hero Academia's Himiko Toga, who Clark provided the English voice for.
- Allanah Fitzgerald as Cyn, the physical embodiment of the AbsoluteSolver.
- Fitzgerald also voices the AbsoluteSolver as a program.
- Joseph Anoa'i as Chief, the new chief of the Worker Defense Force and the father of Ianto.
- Steve Blum as Stahli, the new creator of the colony doors and the host of an AbsoluteSolver variant known as "One-Shot".
- Zeno Robinson as Asher, a student at the colony school and Blue's partner whose Solver works against them. Robinson reprises his role from Murder Drones: Absolution.
- Trina Nishimura as Blue, the wielder of the Supernova Solver and Asher's partner. Nishimura reprises her role from Absolution.
- Bella Ramsey as Remi, a small and mighty scavenger on the planet commonly nicknamed "The Rat" due to her size and agility. Ramsey reprises their role from Absolution.
- Miranda Cosgrove as The Saviour, an alternate timeline variant of Uzi Doorman who resides in the main universe.
- Ryan Reynolds as Serial Designation N, one of the Disassembly Drones and Uzi's boyfriend who, currently, resides in The Saviour's head.
- Katherine Waterston as Serial Designation V, one of the Disassembly Drones who currently resides in The Saviour's head.
- Maya Hawke as Lizzy, the popular girl of the colony school and Kizzy's best friend. Hawke replaces Kristen Wiig as the film voice of Lizzy, and had been in contact with Lizzy's original voice Caitlin Dizon to try and get the most accurate voice possible.
Additionally, Sam Rockwell returns to the role of Khan Doorman, after being replaced by Matt Smith in Absolution due to scheduling issues. Professional wrestler Joe Hendry made his acting debut as a drone version of himself on the television. Xochitl Gomez, Amber Lee Connors and Olivia Olson reprise their roles as Rose, Jenna and Lyra from Absolution. Dee Bradley Baker and Lou Ferrigno provide the vocal effects for the Sentinels.
Alternate timeline variants of Absolution characters are present throughout the film. The aforementioned Xochitl Gomez also plays a variant of Rose named "Void Rose", while prolific British actor Benedict Cumberbatch portrays an alternate Asher named "Slasher". Tati Gabrielle returns as an alternate Alcina named "Void Allie".
Reception[]
Box office[]
Murder Drones: Fatality Complex grossed $959.3 million in the United States and Canada, and $750.7 million in other territories, for a worldwide gross of $1.71 billion.
On a budget of $250 million, Murder Drones: Fatality Complex was projected to gross $125-150 million in its five-day opening weekend. It went approximately $25 million over projection, grossing an astounding $175 million over the five-day period, and topped the box office by a heavy margin. It was the largest opening gate in the Murder Drones film series by far.
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. The film was not released in the Middle East and North Africa due to its inclusion of LGBTQ+ actors, characters, imagery, and relationships.
Critical response[]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 95% of 310 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 9.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "In a film series that only gets better with time, Murder Drones: Fatality Complex has by far been one of the standouts with its beautiful message alongside a simply stunning story and unmatched visuals." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 91 out of 100, based on 75 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 90% overall positive score, with 81% saying they would "definitely recommend" it.