Zone 414 is a sci-fi thriller set in a dangerous, dark colony of humanoids known as "the city of robots." Guy Pearce plays a private investigator, David Carmichael, who is hired to track down its creator's missing daughter, and it's then he teams up with Jane, a highly advanced A.I. who has all the emotions, feelings and dreams of a human being. As the story progresses, they travel through the city uncovering clues and a crime that calls into question the origins and purpose behind the city of artificial humans.
We caught up with Guy earlier today to chat about his role in the movie (it's released in theaters, on Digital and On Demand on September 3, 2021), but had to ask about his time in the MCU. As we're sure you'll recall, he took on the role of A.I.M. founder Aldrich Killian in Iron Man 3, declaring himself "The Mandarin" before meeting an explosive end at the hands of Stark Industries CEO Pepper Potts.
The actor has already expressed interest in reprising the role, but did Marvel drop him a line about potentially returning as Killian for some flashbacks in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings?
"No, I wasn’t," he confirms in the video above. "It’s such a fascinating universe, really. The amazing thing about it is that it’s not as clear cut as going, ‘Well, a character dies so that’s the end of them.’ Also, obviously in films these days there are prequels, so people are going back to earlier stories or there are tangents going across. The idea of someone like Aldrich Killian coming back in some other shape or form is totally feasible in that world [Laughs]. I’ll wait for the call, you know!"
"Some other shape or form"? M.O.D.O.K. feels like one intriguing possibility, though we'd love to see Killian make an appearance in a future episode of What If...? retelling the events of Iron Man 3. Time will tell on that front, but we also took this opportunity to ask Guy about whether comic book and superhero movies roles are something he keeps an eye out for as an actor.
"I guess I just sort of look at everything. I never specifically look for...I never kind of know what I want to do next or have any sort of desire to aim for anything in particular," the Zone 414 star explained. "A big part for me of how I choose what I choose and why I do what I do is about the spontaneity and surprise of it. It’s getting a script, reading it, and saying, ‘Wow, what is this? This is nothing I’ve read before. I’m excited about this. Let’s go and do it.’ That, to me, is a really big driving force. I don’t ever think to myself, ‘Yeah, I’d love to play such and such now.’"
We'll bring you more from our chat with Guy soon, but to hear more about his role in this new sci-fi thriller, the Alien franchise, and much more, make sure to check out the full interview above.