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Aetherium is a 2025 American epic science fiction film written and directed by Matt Reeves and produced by Zack Snyder and Steven Spielberg. It is the first installment of a two-part film and was distributed by Lionsgate. Set in a dystopian future of 2256, the film's ensemble cast includes Daniela Melchior, Gemma Arterton, Ed Skrein, Djimon Hounsou, Freddie Highmore, Patrick Stewart, Sam Neill, John Kani, Angela Bassett, Jamie Dornan, Maribel Verdú, Charlie Hunnam, Josh Brolin, and Anthony Hopkins. In the film, Serana Tomalla (Melchior), a gunslinging adventurer and the outcast daughter of Emperor Vitruvius (Brolin), is forced to confront her family and the heritage she rightfully abandoned in order to save her people from her father's oppression. Aetherium had its world premiere at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on October 28th, 2025, and was released in theaters on November 11th; it became the highest-grossing film of 2025, earning $2.86 billion worldwide against a break-even point of $291 million. The film received universal acclaim with critics and audiences raving the groundbreaking visual effects, story, futuristic setting, the style, Hans Zimmer's musical score, performances (particularly Melchior and Hopkins), and the motivating ending. Among its accolades, it won a Golden Globe Award for Best Visual Effects and a Saturn Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. A sequel entitled Aetherium: A Child Of God is in development.
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  • misterwolf The Following Content is Rated "PG-13": Contains Adult Language, Gritty Images, and Violence. Viewer's Discretion Advised!

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  • misterwolf Plot: In a futuristic, dystopian Earth, after narrowly escaping the clutches of her strict and oppressive father, Vitruvius, the emperor of the Earth, young Serana Tomalla is taken in by her maternal grandfather, The Wolf King, and is trained to live her own lifestyle. Ten years later in 2256, Serana is now a young adult and travels beyond the horizon with a giant black wolf named Morpheus. One day, she finds an injured but alive adventurer, and nurses her back to health.

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  • misterwolf The adventurer identifies herself as Anastasia Ripley, and she quickly befriends Serana and Morpheus. A few weeks later, the two open up about their origins: Serana being the daughter of the emperor who deserted her heritage, and Anastasia being a former member of the emperor's personal elite military, the Imperial Justiciars. After several travels and adventures, Serana and Anastasia are approached by a squadron of the Justiciars, led by the sadistic captain Flavius, sent by the emperor to retrieve Serana, as her father does not take "no" for an answer. They are saved at the last minute by the Carnivore Resistance, a rebel military led by The Wolf King opposing Vitruvius and supporting his rival, Octavius, and his rightful claim to the throne.

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  • misterwolf Meanwhile, back in the kingdom of Romulus, Vitruvius berates Flavius for his failure and orders him to find her. Serana, Anastasia and Morpheus meet with The Wolf King, who has provided a safehouse for Octavius and they both lead the three to Serana's brother Cassius in their captivity; he resents his sister for leaving. She then tells Cassius that he was never there for her when she needed him most. Serana bashfully walks away from her brother and asks Octavius to prepare his coronation attire, indicating that she is going back to Romulus to kill and overthrow her father as a means for Octavius to ascend to the throne.

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  • misterwolf Serana later reveals that her mother Cornelia was also a deserter and was executed for orchestrating Serana's escape, as she knew her child wanted her own life. She constantly talks to hallucinations of Cornelia as a way to cope with her grief and hatred of Vitruvius. When Cassius is left behind by the entire Carnivore Resistance, he finally comes to the realization that he should never have chosen the throne over his sister, and he manages to break free; when he encounters Flavius and is asked where his sister is, he lies and tells him she went up to The Wolf King's throne room. Arriving there and deducing the lie, Flavius becomes enraged and vows to kill Cassius for deserting Romulus.

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  • misterwolf Serana later reveals another reason why Cassius resented her; she had a conversation, seven years after she left Romulus, with High Ambassador Atticus and Flavius' brother Marcus, an Inquisitor, the former having died two years later, and Cassius pointed out that when visiting her at their father's behest, they were spitefully slandering him and Vitruvius. Cassius eventually arrives and surrenders to the trio, understanding his sister's anger towards him.

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  • misterwolf The trio, with Cassius at their mercy, consult soothsayers Septimius and Lady Vittoria, who state that if Vitruvius continues his relentless mission to recapture his daughter, she must kill Flavius so that he is not in her way of her quest. Vitruvius demands an update from Flavius, who explains that Cassius has betrayed the entire kingdom. Outraged and humiliated, he orders Flavius to continue with the mission to capture Serana, but also tells him to bring back Cassius so that Flavius himself can execute him. Arriving at a camp run by Octavius and The Wolf King, the trio cuts Cassius loose after he expresses his visible remorse. Flavius ambushes the camp, having been tipped off by a treacherous member of the Carnivore Resistance; when he tries to kill Cassius, he overpowers Flavius and frees the others, and a fierce battle erupts.

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  • misterwolf Serana fights Flavius throughout the entire battle, and eventually loses, but before he can kill her, Morpheus pounces on Flavius and mauls him. Anastasia, The Wolf King, Cassius and Octavius are injured, but the battle is won, and they are eventually healed. While the army moves ahead, Serana, Anastasia, Morpheus and Cassius decide to make their own way to Romulus. Setting up camp in a snowy mountain, Serana tells the three a story about her conversation with Atticus and Marcus; a flashback reveals that the conversation never mentioned Cassius or Vitruvius, and instead involved Serana somberly expressing her belief that Romulus was never a kingdom that belonged to her family and pointed out that her own father pulled the lever in Cornelia's hanging. Before the end credits roll, Serana envisions that she will eventually join the Carnivore Resistance as a first class captain and that she will eventually execute Vitruvius as punishment for her mother's death, before closing her eyes and shedding a tear.

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  • misterwolf End Credits: Written for the Screen and Directed by Matt Reeves | Produced by Zack Snyder and Steven Spielberg | Co-Produced by Denis Villeneuve and Matt Reeves | Edited by Roger Deakins, ACE | Story Written by Matt Reeves and Zack Snyder | Director of Photography: Roger Deakins, ASC | Choreography by Rob Marshall | Narrated by Anthony Hopkins | Visual Effects by John Knoll | Costumes Designed by Michael Wilkinson | Music by Hans Zimmer | Casting by Sarah Hailey Finn, CSA | Daniela Melchior | Gemma Arterton | Ed Skrein | Djimon Hounsou | Freddie Highmore | Patrick Stewart | Sam Neill | John Kani | Angela Bassett | Jamie Dornan | Maribel Verdú | with Charlie Hunnam | with Josh Brolin | and Anthony Hopkins | Lionsgate Presents | A Co-Production Between Legendary Pictures and The Stone Quarry | A Film by Matt Reeves | AETHERIUM

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  • misterwolf Reception: Aetherium earned universal acclaim, mainly for its stunning visuals and the performances of Melchior and Hopkins. The critical consensus reads "Loaded with excitement and thrilling adventure sequences as well as a great lead by Daniela Melchior, Aetherium tells a visually stunning story and is one of Matt Reeves' most grounded films." It holds a 92% of rotten tomatoes, indicating "universal acclaim", with 86% saying that they would "definitely recommend it."

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