Chris Pratt Faces AI Justice In Dystopian Mercy

Chris Pratt, best known for his wisecracking roles in blockbuster franchises like Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World, is taking a dramatic turn in his latest film, Mercy. On January 20, 2026, Pratt discussed the project, which thrusts him into the heart of a dystopian thriller that explores the chilling potential of artificial intelligence in the justice system. The movie, set to premiere in theaters on January 23, 2026, has already sparked conversations about technology, ethics, and the future of law enforcement.

In Mercy, Pratt plays Chris Raven, a homicide detective who wakes up confused, suffering from a hangover, and shackled in an executioner’s chair. The accusation? The murder of his own wife. With no memory of how he ended up there, Raven is given just 90 minutes to prove his innocence before an AI-controlled justice system delivers its verdict—a system he helped create. The stakes are as high as they come: in this world, 92% of trials end in immediate execution. As Pratt bluntly put it in a conversation with BBC News, “Commit a crime today, you’ll be dead tomorrow.”

This role marks a radical departure for Pratt, whose previous characters have typically been heroic, lighthearted, and often comedic. Raven, by contrast, is deeply flawed—emotionally broken, grappling with alcoholism, and haunted by the loss of his wife. “I’ve never played a character like this before, in a genre like this,” Pratt told BBC News. He was eager to stretch himself as an actor, adding, “I’m always eager to try new things, to be challenged in different ways, and maybe give audiences something they might not expect from me.”

To fully inhabit the desperation and claustrophobia of his character, Pratt took an unusual approach on set. He asked director Timur Bekmambetov to lock him into the executioner’s chair for up to 50 minutes at a time during filming. “I thought this would help lend itself to the performance, and feelings of claustrophobia and being trapped,” Pratt explained to BBC News. The experience was as uncomfortable as it sounds: “I was sweating, so if my face itched, I couldn’t scratch it, and I couldn’t get up.” This physical and psychological confinement was intended to mirror Raven’s predicament, heightening the authenticity of Pratt’s performance.

Adding another layer of complexity, Pratt’s scenes with Rebecca Ferguson, who plays the AI Judge Maddox, were filmed separately. Ferguson performed her role on a different sound stage, and the two actors communicated via earpieces. As Ferguson explained to Rotten Tomatoes Trailers, “It would’ve been really hard to shift from an A.I. perspective who doesn’t have an emotional, or shouldn’t have an emotion behind her eyes.” For Pratt, the isolation only deepened the sense of being alone and under relentless scrutiny—much like his character in the film.

Despite the confined setting, Mercy is far from static. The story unfolds in real time, with Raven desperately gathering evidence from a vast municipal cloud and making brief calls to witnesses. Surveillance footage is a constant presence, reflecting a society where privacy has all but vanished. According to The Economic Times, the film is a “science fiction thriller movie with strong psychological and ethical factors,” focusing on suspense and moral dilemmas rather than traditional action. Yet, as Pratt teased, there are “great stunt and fight scenes” interspersed throughout, giving the film an adrenaline-charged edge.

At the heart of Mercy lies a provocative question: What happens when justice is handed over to algorithms? The AI Judge Maddox, brought to life by Ferguson, presides over a court where efficiency trumps empathy. There’s no jury, no appeals, and the final decision is determined by a cold calculation—if the defendant’s guilt score hits 92% or higher, execution is immediate. As BBC News reports, defendants do have access to surveillance footage and can make short phone calls to witnesses, but the process is rapid, unforgiving, and almost entirely devoid of human compassion.

The film’s depiction of a surveillance-driven, AI-controlled justice system is firmly rooted in fiction, but it’s not as far-fetched as it might seem. As BBC News notes, artificial intelligence is already making inroads into policing, with some forces in the UK using facial recognition technologies to identify criminals. The UK government has announced plans to roll out AI tools by 2030 to help police predict and prevent crime. However, these developments have sparked concerns among academics, parliamentarians, and human rights advocates, who worry about the potential erosion of civil liberties and privacy.

Pratt himself is clear-eyed about the dangers of letting machines decide matters of life and death. “I do believe in a jury of your peers and the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty,” he emphasized. While he’s not a “doomsday type of guy,” Pratt admits to being “cautiously optimistic about these evolving technologies, and how they might actually move humanity forward in a great way.” Still, he’s wary of the “onslaught of digital mania” and the impact of screen time on his own children.

Filming Mercy proved to be a transformative experience for Pratt. Unlike the disjointed, effects-heavy shoots typical of modern blockbusters, this project felt more like “a long performance of a two or three-act stage play,” he told BBC News. The combination of intense psychological drama and high-octane action left him feeling more fulfilled as an actor.

With its blend of real-time suspense, ethical quandaries, and a haunting vision of technology gone awry, Mercy is poised to spark debate about the future of justice and the role of AI in society. As audiences prepare for the film’s release, Pratt’s bold performance and the movie’s unsettling questions are sure to linger long after the credits roll.

For Pratt, the journey from quippy action hero to tormented detective has been a rewarding one. Whether or not he’ll reprise his role as Star-Lord in future Marvel films remains to be seen, but for now, he’s content to let audiences see him in a whole new light. “When that happens, it will be me playing him,” he said with a grin about Star-Lord’s possible return. “We’ll see. I hope so. I know that Marvel is busy cooking a lot of things in their kitchen right now, and I’m only a phone call away.”

Mercy opens in UK cinemas on January 23, 2026, inviting viewers to confront the uncomfortable realities of a future where justice may be just a calculation away.