Joe and Anthony Russo have made no secret about their desire to build a franchise from the ground up. But outside the Marvel Cinematic Universe their success has been… well, less successful. The Gray Man sequel has never materialized. Citadel has actually launched a few spin-offs—some of them even positively received—but the flagship show was a bore and the series has made, overall, no cultural impact. Ah, well: onto The Electric State.
The Russos’ new film, starring Chris Pratt and Millie Bobby Brown, premieres on March 7, and the streamer is already technically franchising. On March 18, the streamer will launch a “bite-sized adventure puzzle prequel” video game called The Electric State: Kid Cosmo. The game, which is a collaboration between Netflix, BUCK Games, and the Russos’ company AGBO, is set through the eyes of Brown’s character Michelle and her brother Chris.
“Kid Cosmo needs your help! Blast through an ’80s-inspired puzzle adventure game-within-a-game alongside boy wonder Chris and his big sister Michelle,” the game synopsis reads. “Wichita, Kansas — 1985: Go on a journey through the eyes of Chris and Michelle as they navigate coming of age in the retro-futuristic world of The Electric State. This narrative-driven game takes place before the events of the movie and spans five years, blending gameplay with emotional storytelling to create an immersive experience.”
The Electric State itself is based on the graphic novel by Simon Stålenhag. In an interview with Variety, Anthony Russo described their company as “film agnostic” when it comes to developing their franchises, which means “we value all the different forms you can express yourself in linear cinema storytelling.” Joe added that “we’re really interested in new ways to tell stories using technology. And so the three of us together are trying to explore and ideate around what opportunities there could be over the next decade using new tools and new technology to tell stories and can we make it can we make it true transmedia, where the same assets that we’re using for CG in movies is also the same assets that are in the game, that are also the same assets in a virtual experience. And that’s the mission of AGBO currently, at the moment.”
