The Pod Generation follows Rachel and Alvy, a New York couple who are ready to start a family. As a rising tech company executive, Rachel lands a coveted spot at the Womb Center, which offers couples the opportunity to share pregnancy on a more equal footing by way of mobile, artificial wombs, or pods.
Alvy, a botanist and devoted purist about the natural environment, has doubts, but his love for Rachel prompts him to take a leap of faith. And so, begins the wild ride on their tech-paved path to parenthood.
Sophie Barthes (Madame Bovary) writes and directs the movie, and we were recently fortunate enough to speak with the filmmaker about her work on this unique sci-fi tale. Despite being a lower-budgeted project, the world she's created is incredibly ambitious and stars two A-Listers in Emilia Clarke (Secret Invasion) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness).
Explaining her approach to telling this story, Barthes talks to us about casting the movie's leads, the challenge creating this unique future presented, the dangers of AI, and her future projects. However, a Marvel movie won't be among them.
Given the big ideas The Pod Generation presents, we couldn't help but wonder whether the director would want to follow in the footsteps of Cate Shortland, Chloé Zhao, and Nia DaCosta by helming an MCU blockbuster.
"Marvel, I would never do. Politically, I can’t. If I’m building these little things which are a satire and commentary on commodification...I feel those products have commodified cinema."
"If you compare movie theaters in France and Europe, you have an insane diversity of films. You can see a Turkish film or an Israeli film or any sort of small film that came out at Cannes in the theater. In America, now you have blockbusters and very few spots for independent films. They’ve crushed the industry in a way and have been very profitable, but they’re also a machine that’s very crushing for filmmakers now trying to make little movies while saying something about humanity [Laughs]."
"I can’t criticise and do it. I have to be faithful to what I think and I’m not saying they’re bad, but I don’t think they help. They’re entertainment in a way that has become a formula. I think even the generation of teenagers today are getting tired of them so they’re going to have to renew. For me, it doesn’t attract me at all. I feel life is very short and if I’m telling my teenager to try to watch other types of movies, I can’t be making them [Laughs]. It’s not my cup of tea. I understand why they exist!"
It's easy to understand why Barthes feels the way she does and, while it's a shame we won't get to see the filmmaker bring her talents to a franchise like MCU, that's good news for independent projects and smaller movies like The Pod Generation.
You can watch the full interview with Barthes in the player below:
0:00 - Introductions
1:06 - Why the nature versus science themes interested her
3:48 - Casting Emilia Clarke and Chiwetel Ejiofor
5:51 - The challenges of creating a sci-fi future with a limited budget
7:50 - The movie’s horror influences
12:40 - Why this sci-fi future isn’t good for men or women
15:32 - On finding levity within the darker themes
17:11 - Sequel possibilities and future plans
19:45 - Why she would never direct a Marvel movie
The Pod Generation arrives in theaters on August 11.