Chris Pratt and Timur Bekmambetov Talk Tech, Innovation, and the 90 Minute Trial of Mercy – INTERVIEW

Mercy reunites Chris Pratt and Timur Bekmambetov and puts innovation on the clock.

Chris Pratt’s character in “Mercy” does not get a slow start, a second chance, or a moment to breathe. He gets 90 minutes. Set in the near future, the thriller follows a detective, played by Pratt, who stands trial accused of murdering his wife. His only shot at survival is convincing an advanced AI judge, voiced by Rebecca Ferguson, that he is innocent before the system determines his fate. “Mercy” opens only in theaters Jan. 23, 2026.

Pratt and director Timur Bekmambetov spoke with me about how the story’s pressure shaped everything, including the movie’s production. For Bekmambetov, the technology was not a gimmick. It was a way to help the performance feel immediate, grounded, and real, even as the film plays inside a heightened future.

Pratt and Bekmambetov are also reuniting after “Wanted,” a collaboration Pratt still points to as an early example of the director’s obsession with innovation and camera experimentation.

A Role With No Room for Safety Nets

Pratt said Bekmambetov pushed him into a tighter, more serious lane than audiences may expect. “He did a great job of understanding the character, the darkness of this character, and the seriousness of this character,” Pratt said, explaining that the director would not let him lean on instincts that usually come easily.

That focus mattered because the character’s world collapses fast. Pratt said the stakes leave no space for charm or relief. “Like, there’s none of that,” he said. “There’s no room for that in his character.” He then snapped the situation into place: “He’s been accused of his wife’s murder,” and he “has literally 90 minutes to prevent himself from dying.”

Tech Built to Support Performance

Bekmambetov said the film relied on the Volume, a production approach that surrounds actors with massive, real-time environments on screens, rather than placing them in front of blank walls that get filled later. He described it as essential because Pratt spends so much screen time confined, with the tension living on his face and reactions.

“It was the only way to make this movie,” Bekmambetov said. He put it in actor-centered terms: “When you have Chris in the chair for 90 minutes of the screen time, you need to help him with the images around, with something he can interact with.”

Bekmambetov said that interaction changes the whole feel of the work. “It’s not only about the backgrounds,” he said. “It’s about the lighting. It’s about his performance.” He also laughed about the old way of doing effects-heavy scenes, recalling Pratt’s experience. Pratt told him he spent years “talking to tennis balls,” a shorthand for effects-heavy acting that fans of “Guardians of the Galaxy” will instantly recognize, where performances often happen opposite stand-ins, props, and placeholders that become full characters later.

A Director Known for Pushing the Edge

Pratt connected that tech-forward approach to Bekmambetov’s track record. The two previously worked together on “Wanted,” and Pratt still remembers how far ahead the director was even then.

“He was shooting Phantom Camera 1600 frames a second,” Pratt said. “But on film, that’s unheard of.” Pratt said the mindset never stopped, adding that he still sees Bekmambetov “continue to be on the cutting edge, doing film techniques that just simply have never happened before because he hadn’t invented them yet.”

What to Know About ‘Mercy’

Bekmambetov directed “Mercy” from a script written by Marco van Belle. Along with Pratt and Ferguson, the cast includes Kali Reis, Annabelle Wallis, Chris Sullivan, and Kylie Rogers.

Pratt ended the conversation by joking about how quickly things can escalate when you put a character on a clock. “It’d be good to talk to you again after we do Mercy two Electric Boogaloo,” he said.

Mercy releases in theaters on January 23rd, 2026.

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