The $300m Russo brothers Netflix film The Electric State has spent serious money on some things. Wigs very much included.
Across 103 very expensive seconds, Netflix has pulled back the curtain on its most costly movie of all time: The Electric State. With a bill in excess of $300m, before marketing, it’s arguably the last massive gamble of this size the streaming giant will undertake.
In case you haven’t seen it yet, here’s the new trailer:
Directed by the Russo brothers, before they head back to the relative safety of Avengers movies, the film has an all-star cast, led by Chris Pratt and Millie Bobby Brown. Also on the payroll are Ke Huy Quan, Jason Alexander, Woody Norman, with Giancarlo Esposito and Stanley Tucci. It also features the vocal talents of Woody Harrelson, Anthony Mackie, Brian Cox, Jenny Slate, Hank Azaria, Colman Domingo and Alan Tudyk.
On the acting and visual effects side of things, expense is clearly not being spared. On the headwear side? Well, even on a $300m production, economies have to be made somewhere.
Having spoken to internet consultants about how to drive more traffic to our website, their latest report has come back with a list of suggestions. We have to do responses to new trailers, they’ve insisted. Write more lists. These are the ways forward for entertainment websites, and they tell us it’s about time we fell into line.
Reluctantly, we must do so. The bullet is being bitten. Given we’re a tiny team, we’ve thus thrown two of the ideas together: a trailer reaction, and a list. We’ve been staring at the wiggy nature of the new trailer for a few hours now, peering at Chris Pratt’s bonce as if it were a Magic Eye picture.
As such, we have generated some compelling digital content. Here’s our exclusive ranking of the oddest looking wigs in the new The Electric State trailer.
3. Millie Bobby Brown
I cannot confess to be a man of much hair, and thus the nuances I can offer here are on the limited side. When it comes to The Electric State, I do suspect though that the terrific Millie Bobby Brown has been sent on a special visit to Wigs R Us for the look of her earnest character, Michelle.
At one stage in the trailer, we see a flashback where she’s clearly happy, with her brother, in a more serene stage of her life. For the moments in the film’s present day, as it were, strands have been added in a not-entirely convincing way. I commend the, again, terrific Millie Bobby Brown for acting under such conditions.
Read more: The Electric State | When is an adaptation not an adaptation?
2. Ke Huy Quan
Winning an Oscar doesn’t get you a free pass when the rugs are being handed out. You can almost imagine the conversation.
“Congratulations on your Oscar, Ke! Would you like a fat cheque to appear in a new Russo brothers Netflix movie?”
“Sure! What’s the catch?”
This is the catch, Ke:
1. Chris Pratt
However, this thorough and in-depth list has but one winner. The rich visual effects we see in The Electric State trailer are no distraction from the ‘what the bloody hell is that on his head’ moment when Chris Pratt appears on screen.
Remember Cousin It from The Addams Family (1991) and Addams Family Values (1993)? It’s as if he’s an unnamed member of the cast list for The Electric State, that he popped on set for a visit, got a quick hair cut, and decided to live on Chris Pratt’s head for the duration of the shoot.
It’s a case here of a picture paints a thousand words. Here’s a screengrab from the trailer…
And here’s where they clearly acquired the wig from.
2025 may yet have more alarming wigs on screen, but it’s good to see that Netflix continues to explore ways it can lead the industry. Its Electric State wig work very much included.
Now, we sit back and watch the clicks roll in.
Wig wranglers: Simon Brew, Ryan Lambie.
