The action-packed sci-fi film The Creator has an epic finale. We’ll explain exactly what happens at the end and what the chances are of a part 2.
After director Gareth Edwards unleashed Godzilla on the big screen and even made one of the best Star Wars films, Rogue One, he devoted himself to his own science fiction story. The Creator takes us into a dark future in which humanity goes to war against artificial intelligence.
The story centers on ex-soldier Joshua (John David Washington), who is sent to destroy an AI superweapon. But then it turns out that this weapon is a human robot child. What follows is an unexpected journey through dystopian landscapes that takes us into space.
Below, we’ll explain the ending of the movie to you – including spoilers!
The end of The Creator explained: the truth about Alphie, Maya and the mysterious Nirmata
At the end of The Creator, the individual storylines converge and culminate in an explosive finale. Joshua finds out that Alphie (Madeleine Yuna Voyles) – the name of the human robot child – was created by his wife Maya (Gemma Chan), who was thought to be dead and turns out to be Nirmata.
Joshua assumed that Maya was the daughter of the AI architect Nirmata, before she was killed in an attack five years earlier in the prologue. Now we know that Maya herself has been in this role all this time and is in a coma. She also created Alphie after the unborn child of herself and Joshua.
Since the AI beings surrounding Maya, who is in a coma, cannot turn off the life support equipment, they ask Joshua to do so so that Maya can finally find peace. With a heavy heart, Joshua complies with their requests, before we move to the NOMAD space station, which is under military control.
The final twist in The Creator: General Andrews, the destruction of NOMAD and Joshua’s death
The atomic bomb that was allegedly detonated by an AI in Los Angeles in 2065 was actually detonated by the US government. General Andrews (Ralph Ineson) turns out to be the big villain and wants to eliminate further AI targets. Joshua and Alphie use deception to get on the NOMAD in order to destroy it.
Joshua takes Alphie to the last remaining escape pod and sends her back to Earth, while he goes to his death with the exploding space station and Andrews. But before that, he encounters another human-like AI being that looks similar to Maya and has been loaded with her memories by Alphie.
So Joshua and Maya finally get one last moment to share together after all these years. Meanwhile, on Earth, Alphie is welcomed by the other AIs as the new Nirmata, and there is renewed hope for peaceful coexistence between humans and machines.
Two things clearly speak against The Creator 2: Gareth Edwards and the box office result
In itself, The Creator tells a self-contained story that brings the fate of the main characters to an end. The last few minutes, however, raise further questions, such as whether humanity will actually find a way to get along with the AI beings. The film leaves that to our imagination.
In fact, director Gareth Edwards revealed at the theatrical release that he has no desire for part 2. In an interview with The Direct, he said:
The Creator] was a completely self-contained story. […] My favorite part of the story is the end. I really like working backwards from the end and having everything build to that climax, where there’s kind of a moment where the mic is dropped and the credits roll – those are my favorite movies. And so I have no intention of doing part 2 or anything like that.
Another thing that speaks against The Creator 2 is the weak box office result of the original. With a budget of $80 million (excluding marketing costs), The Creator was only able to generate $104 million worldwide, as Box Office Mojo notes. As a rule, two to three times the production costs are expected as a box office return.
This makes The Creator not only a financial disappointment, but also a real flop. It is very unlikely that the Disney-based film studio 20th Century Studios has much interest in part 2. This fact, combined with Edwards’ statement, should bury any hopes of a sequel.
