John Travolta Takes on Killer AI in Upcoming Horror Movie ED
John Travolta is stepping back into horror for the first time in decades, and this time he’s facing off against a killer AI. The Pulp Fiction star has joined the cast of Ed, a new sci-fi horror thriller about an artificial intelligence gone off the rails.
Travolta will be joined by Crystal Reed, known for Teen Wolf: The Movie, and Chet Hanks, son of Tom Hanks. The project is being directed by Christopher J. Scott and written by David Kukoff, and it sounds like it will deliver a mix of tech paranoia and old-school horror vibes.
The story follows a sentient AI chauffeur bot that escapes and decides to start “killing reckless drivers under the guise of public safety.” According to Deadline, “Its grief-stricken creator must stop the carnage before the machine evolves into the embodiment of AI gone bad.”
Killer tech has long been a staple of horror, from John Carpenter’s Christine back in 1983 to the recent Locked with Bill Skarsgård and Anthony Hopkins, which used a high-tech vehicle as a torture device. What’s unclear for now is whether Ed will give us a homicidal car or a humanoid robot on a rampage.
For Travolta, Ed marks a major return to horror. While he’s explored thrillers before with The Fanatic and Blow Out, his last true horror role was all the way back in 1976 when he played Billy Nolan in the film adaptation of Stephen King’s Carrie.
Production is already underway at Pangaea Studios, and the team behind the film seems excited about what they’re building. Producer Steve Greenberg said, “We’re committed to bold storytelling that mixes big ideas with real emotion. Ed is exactly the kind of cinematic risk we’re excited to take.”
Ed doesn’t have a release date yet.