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Movies

Chris Pratt Breaks the Mold With Mercy, an AI Thriller Unlike Anything in His Career

written by Leo Hartwell
Chris Pratt Breaks the Mold With Mercy, an AI Thriller Unlike Anything in His Career
Image credit: Legion-Media

Chris Pratt charts new territory with Mercy, an AI-fueled thriller unlike anything in his career. With Rebecca Ferguson co-starring and Timur Bekmambetov at the helm from a script by Marco van Belle, Pratt teases the high-tech hook that sets it apart.

Chris Pratt is stepping away from quippy space bandits and dinosaur wrangling for something a lot moodier. His next movie, an AI-driven thriller called 'Mercy', got a showcase at New York Comic Con, and Pratt made it clear this one is not business as usual for him.

The setup

Set in a near-future Los Angeles, 'Mercy' follows a veteran homicide detective who signs onto a new city program meant to crack down on a surge in capital crimes by leaning on advanced AI. Then his life blows up: he is accused of murdering his wife, and the machine he helped empower is the one deciding what happens to him.

That AI is not just a faceless algorithm either. Rebecca Ferguson plays Judge Maddox, the digital authority tasked with delivering his fate. Yes, Ferguson is the AI.

'He is a homicide detective in the near future... part of this special new Mercy program... essentially using AI to be more efficient and face the rise in capital crime.'

  • Chris Pratt leads as the homicide detective trying to clear his name after his wife is killed.
  • Rebecca Ferguson portrays Judge Maddox, the advanced AI deciding his fate under the Mercy program.
  • Timur Bekmambetov directs, the filmmaker behind 'Wanted' (2008) and 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter' (2012).
  • The script comes from Marco van Belle.
  • Pratt called the project a departure during a New York Comic Con panel on Thursday.
  • Bekmambetov backed that up, saying Pratt plays a darker, more vulnerable character in a straight-up dramatic story, even though he is famous for action roles.
  • 'Mercy' opens in theaters on January 23, 2026.

Why Pratt says it is different for him

Pratt framed the movie as a pivot: less swagger, more scars. Bekmambetov doubled down on that, calling it a new phase for Pratt and emphasizing how much of the film plays as a dramatic character piece. For a guy largely associated with crowd-pleasing blockbusters, that is notable on its own. Toss in Ferguson as a literal judge-jury-executioner AI, and the premise gets extra tense.