Film now in post-production

An October premiere could be on the cards for The Rebooted, a comic book-themed thriller marking the feature debut of Sussex-raised writer-director Matthew Rowney.

Earlier this year the production wrapped its woodland shoot at Downash Woods, where the cast and crew made use of the site’s distinctive tree cabins to bring the film’s vision to life.

Since then Lou Ferrigno, best known for his title role in the CBS television series The Incredible Hulk (1977-1982) has added a cameo.

Newhaven-based Matthew said: “The film is now in post-production. We're hoping for it to be finished at the end of August. The audio is being done at the moment. I am very pleased with it. Like any film-maker you look at your work and you think ‘I wish I had had another three days’ but given the scale and the time that we had, I am very happy with the results. I'm already starting the conversations and there are quite a few people that are interested in buying the film. Hopefully, it will be available to watch by the end of the year.

“We want some sort of theatrical launch for the film but it does get complicated. It depends on who the distributor is but we're looking at an international release which is very exciting. We are hoping to have our company premiere in October, and I'm pushing for that to be in Sussex because I am Sussex-based.”

The hope would be for a Netflix release.

The project boasts an ensemble cast, including Ian Beattie and Roxanne McKee, known for her role in Game of Thrones, alongside Andrew Lee Potts (Primeval), Stephanie Waring (Hollyoaks), Wilson James, and Amelia Flanagan (Emmerdale). Also featuring is Martins Imhangbe of Bridgerton fame.

Latest addition is US voice actor Nicolas Roye, widely recognised for his work across anime, video games and children's television, including the hit Marvel animated series Spidey and His Amazing Friends. Roye joins the project in a voice role, bringing his animation and character experience to the film. Also joining the cast is Harry Potter actress Shefali Chowdhury, “further strengthening an ensemble that blends established screen talent with rising independent film performers.”

Recent filming has also wrapped on scenes featuring Lauren Staerck, known for her role in the Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey franchise. Staerck completed her final scenes alongside Wilson James at St Mary Magdalene Catholic Church in Brighton.

The Sussex connection runs deep throughout the production, with a number of local film-makers contributing to the project. Burgess Hill-based Red Roads Productions, led by Ollie Hopkins, handled lighting, while director of photography Joel Tucker, also from the south, worked closely with Matthew to shape the film’s visual identity.

The film was produced by Panchariya Brothers Productions, a newly established UK-based film studio headed by Dev Panchariya, and as Matthew says, the film’s AI theme has become more and more relevant as the months have passed.

As Matthew explains: “A comic book thriller with a major narrative twist, The Rebooted explores the increasing influence of artificial intelligence on society while directly engaging with the current conversation around the struggles and evolution of the comic book movie genre. The film aims to deconstruct modern hero mythology, blending grounded suspense with genre commentary.

“This story is deeply personal to me, not just as a film-maker making my first feature, but as someone who grew up loving comic books while watching the world rapidly change around technology. East Sussex felt like the perfect place to bring this story to life.

“The majority of my life I lived in Burgess Hill but I now live in Newhaven with my wife and three children. I've always been Sussex-based and my debut feature was always going to be in Sussex

“I have now been working in film for 15 years, and when AI entered the scene, the chat of a lot of my friends in visual effects was quite nervous about it and what its place was going to be and whether it would replace all of us. But I do think that there will always be room for the creative mind. I don't think you can ever replace that human element. I don't think you will ever replace the creatives.”

But AI provides a context for the film, as does Matthew's love of comic books: “I grew up on them. I was a little bit of a rascal and didn’t want to read books and this was a way of getting me to read. I always loved the world-building and the escapism that you get in comic books that you didn't get in other genres.

“And I think over the last 20 years the stereotypical comic book has grown and now if you went to the cinema you would get couples and whole families watching them.”