Gareth Edwards: Big-Budget Franchises Can Embrace Affordable Approaches

Director Gareth Edwards reveals that his latest sci-fi film, The Creator, was originally going to have a budget even lower than its current $80 million, but the pandemic increased the cost. Edwards discusses his approach to filmmaking, combining guerrilla techniques with Hollywood resources, and suggests that franchises like Star Wars and Godzilla could benefit from a similar approach. He also explains how The Creator incorporates real-world locations and minimal VFX, and discusses the timely themes of AI and perspective in the film. Edwards believes that a stripped-down approach could be applied to big-budget films, although VFX and costume budgets would still be significant.