Producer Charles Roven Spills AI Secrets, Mercy Mysteries, and Why Chris Pratt Is Hollywood’s Ultimate Everyman—You Won’t Believe What He Reveals!
Added on February 1, 2026 inEntertainment News Cards, Movie News Cards
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Well, well, well—if it isn’t Charles Roven gracing us with yet another cinematic gem! This guy’s produced some heavy hitters you probably can’t stop quoting at parties—think Oppenheimer and Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy. But hold onto your horoscopes, because Roven’s latest eye-catcher, Mercy, is currently topping this weekend’s box office charts. Teaming up with director Timur Bekmambetov and everybody’s favorite all-American leading man Chris Pratt, they’ve cooked up a smart, suspenseful dive into the AI realm that feels shockingly timely—like Mercury retrograde crashing your tech gadgets but way cooler. I caught up with Charles for a Zoom pow-wow, where we dove into everything from AI’s promises to the charming everyman allure of Pratt, and let me tell you, sparks flew! If you haven’t caught Mercy yet, it’s absolutely worth your astral alignment and ticket money. Curious about what makes this film a standout in today’s blockbuster cosmos? LEARN MORE
Producer Charles Roven has been involved in a few flicks you all very likely love. Roven has been involved with Oppenheimer, as well as Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy. For his latest, Mercy, he had the chance to work with Timur Bekmambetov, as well as Chris Pratt. Currently sitting on the top of the weekends box office chart, Roven and crew have something to celebrate. You can check out my interview with Pratt, Bekmambetov, and Kali Reis here.
Last week, I had the distinct pleasure to chat over Zoom with Charles. We had a terrific conversation about AI, and the charms of Chris Pratt. As well as some of his past successes. It was such genuinely enjoyable chat. And if you haven’t seen Mercy as of yet, it is currently in theatres.
Charles Roven: Hey, Jimmy, how are you? Nice to meet you over Zoom.
Nice to meet you over Zoom as well. I’ve got to say, man, obviously you’ve been a part of some very, very impressive films and ones that have obviously been a huge part of JoBlo. What is it about this story, Mercy, and working with Timur, and finding this kind of examination of this world of AI?
Charles Roven: I mean, there are a number of things, but first and foremost, I think that it is something that we’re probably, I think we’ll look back on and say, wow, this was prescient, or sadly it was prescient. I’m not sure.
We don’t know yet.
Charles Roven: We don’t know yet. Exactly. And that’s kind of what I love about what we’re able to accomplish in the screenplay and ultimately in what the movie is. You’ve obviously seen the whole movie now, right?
Yeah, last night.
Charles Roven: So it leaves you in a place where I think you are satisfied, but also it’s something you can talk about.
For sure. For sure. You have this world, and it’s very prevalent. It feels like it’s fitting in today’s society.
Charles Roven: Exactly.
So I assume that was part of your interest in exploring what’s going on.
Charles Roven: I’ll tell you what was really so interesting: when we started to develop this, it was just like, oh yeah, AI, it’s going to happen at some point. And then all of a sudden, when we had the screenplay finished, and Timor was part of the package, and Chris and Rebecca were part of the package, and we were going out in the marketplace, the whole thing just exploded.
I assume also that that must be kind of a good feeling too, to be creating original material.
Charles Roven: It is, and I’ve been a fan of Timur’s work for a long time, and in particular, I’ve really admired what he calls his screen life movies that he’s both directed and produced. Right. I’m sure you’ve seen those. And so when we started talking about the project, and it was really Majd Nassif, who is a producer on the movie, but was working with Timor’s company and Rob, who is a creative executive, well, he’s actually executive vice president of Atlas Entertainment. When those two guys got together and brought the project to Timor, it was like, Hmm, this is really interesting, and it gets to use this invention of teamwork and really actually expand on it in a really great way. So I was excited about that too. You don’t see too many movies that are fashioned this way
For sure. That’s absolutely true. I want to talk about Chris. Was involved from the beginning? Why do you think it is about him that just represents the everyday man?
Charles Roven: Well, that is it, isn’t it?
Yeah, I guess.
Charles Roven: So. The everyday man, but he’s still even within representing the everyday man, he’s still funny, smart, compassionate, and badass.
It’s a good combination.
Charles Roven: And he’s not without his flaws as a human, and he can play really great leading guys that have some flaws. We all do. You know what I’m saying? So he is every man.
Yeah, that’s true. Now, one of the things I feel like this builds, you could easily have a sequel to this. You could easily have a franchise of this. Is that in the talks, or is this just, let’s just do this flick, see how it goes?
Charles Roven: I think right now we are. Hey, we think we’ve got something that’s very special. We hope people agree with us when they see it. And I’m a producer who likes to have the demand of, Hey, can we get more? And if that happens, I would be happy to move forward on it, but I don’t want to be presumptuous.
Well, I mean, you have been a part of some pretty impressive projects like The Dark Knight.
Charles Rover: And I’m amazingly happy to be part of it, but it did take Batman Begins to bring about The Dark Knight.
It did. It did. Very much so. I mean, it would be curious because there does seem to be room to continue.
Charles Roven: Yeah. I mean, that was the other thing we had to come to a conclusion on: I don’t want to speak about the ending.
Yeah, no, don’t give anything away. Don’t give anything away. Timur has such an, you mentioned you’re a fan of his. He is such a visionary, such an interesting filmmaker. What is it to you that you really enjoy working with and finding that connection?
Charles Roven: It is that interesting thing. He never stops thinking about what he’s doing, never stops thinking about possibilities of how he can make it better. And so that’s both fantastic and enjoyable to talk about, but it’s also challenging. Is this particular idea that’s an invention of yours, a really good idea, or is it something that we should be careful about? And so as a producer, I’ve got to make sure that in working with a director like that, I’m giving him all the space that he can handle. Right. But at a certain point, I’ve got to say, we’ve got to finish the movie now.
Sure. Well, it was an absolute pleasure talking, sir. Congratulations on the film.
Charles Roven: Thanks so much. Really nice talking to you too.
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