‘The Killer’s Game’ star Sofia Boutella talks about her break from action and the future of her character in ‘Rebel Moon’

Sofia Boutella desperately needed a break from the action, and JJ Perry… The Assassin’s Game provided exactly that.

After devoting nearly all of 2022 to her most physically demanding role yet as Kora/Arthelais in Zack Snyder’s film, Rebel Moon Boutella was relieved not to have to bear the burden of being the lead heroine in Perry’s action comedy. Instead, she was thrilled with the romantic role she was offered alongside her ex Hotel Artemis co-star Dave Bautista. His Rebel Moon The character didn’t have the best luck in the romance department either, so The Assassin’s GameHis more hopeful love story probably appealed to her, too.

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The Algerian actress’s physical background is still on full display in the opening sequence, as her character, Maize, is a ballet dancer who is thinking about retiring when she meets Bautista’s murderous character, Joe Flood.

“I enjoyed being in an action movie and not doing any action,” says Boutella. The Hollywood Reporter with a laugh. “I do action movies, but I also try to play roles that are different from that style and genre. So it was fun to stay in this genre and not do any action movies. I guess it’s a bit like when I did Atomic Blond.”

Boutella and Bautista kept in touch after becoming friends in the Hotel Artemis Makeup trailer. In fact, Bautista praised Snyder when he was in the preliminary stages of creating Rebel Moon. And when Boutella SAS: Rebel Heroes The schedule collided with The Assassin’s GameIn the face of his own mid-strike production, Bautista refused to consider other candidates and helped move mountains so Boutella could still play with Maize.The Assassin’s Game Filmed in the strike-plagued summer of 2023 with a tentative SAG-AFTRA deal).

As for the future of Rebel MoonNothing is official yet, but the prospects for Snyder’s multi-film ambition don’t look too promising after Netflix’s recent regime change. The streaming service is the only entity to outperform Wall Street’s streaming devaluation in the summer of 2022, but there have been numerous signs that it is joining its streaming competitors in making fewer and fewer big-budget works.

In any case, Boutella is shedding some light on where Kora/Arthelais was headed, and he believes that her redemptive arc was already setting her on a trajectory to become the new “Redeemer.” When she was kidnapped and “adopted” by the evil Empire as a child, Arthelais found hope in the mythos of the original Princess Issa, who was regarded as “The Redeemer.” Through the tutelage of her adoptive father Balisarius, Arthelais grew up to become a talented soldier until her father tricked her into murdering the current Princess Issa for the sake of his own power. And while we may not see it play out in full on-screen, that seismic event began Arthelais’ long road to redemption.

“Yeah, for sure,” Boutella says when asked if she thinks Kora was meant to be the new Redeemer. “It’s a redemption story in every sense, and she learned a lot from that moment (of the murder) when Issa tells her, ‘I forgive you. ’ It was something Arthelais didn’t understand at the time, but as time went on, it gave her the strength to move on and not kill herself or let herself be killed despite that amount of guilt (she felt).”

Then, during a recent conversation with The thrBoutella also discusses how her ballet dancer character differs from her own career as a dancer, before explaining why she made the comparison. Rebel Moon character of an addict.

It occurred to me that I’ve spent more time watching you on screen than any other actor in the last year. Between four different Rebel Moon cuts and The Assassin’s GameThat’s a little over 12 hours of Sofia Boutella.

(Laughter.) I hope you’re not sick of me!

No, never! You’ve always held the screen correctly.

Well, thank you.

Was The Assassin’s Game The first project you filmed after your almost year-long commitment to Rebel Moon?

No, it was the second one. In the meantime, I did the second season of a TV show called SAS: Rebel Heroeswhich will be released in January or February 2025, I believe.

You have some physical moments in The Assassin’s GameSure, but after almost a year of intense work as Kora/Arthelais, was it nice not to be the one carrying all the action?

Yes, I loved it. I enjoyed being in an action movie and not doing any action.Laughter.) I mean, I do a little bit of dancing and kicking someone in the face, but I enjoyed it. I do action movies, but I also try to play roles that are different from that style and genre. So it was fun to stick to this genre and not do any action movies. I guess it’s a bit like when I did Atomic Blond.

Maize is a ballet dancer and from the start she explains that she wants to retire because dancing has taken a toll on her body. Can you relate to that? Is dancing more exhausting than most people think?

Yes, it demands a lot from your body. It’s also very demanding, mentally and physically. It really affects you from every angle, and there is a moment when the body doesn’t keep up. There are some dancers who can push themselves, but depending on whether you’ve had injuries, that rhythm changes and varies. It’s really an important issue because your brain can still keep up and sometimes your body doesn’t want to. It can’t. But it’s something that I was really doing. No I can relate because, fortunately, I have never had an injury or an incident that would stop me from moving forward as a dancer. I chose to walk away from that because I fell in love with acting and really wanted to pursue that craft. But I understand it because I have seen it happen around me many times. So I can understand how it can feel when your body doesn’t want to or can’t move forward.

You and Dave Bautista did not interact together on screen in Hotel ArtemisBut it turns out that you’re both Zack Snyder’s two most recent lead actors. Did you use that bond to get to know each other a little better and build your on-screen relationship?

We talked a little about that. We had a scene together in Hotel ArtemisBut we didn’t interact with each other in that scene. We kept talking between takes, and I thought he was a lovely man, very kind and gentle. Then we kept in touch through DMs over the years, and we talked a lot when we were about to shoot this, because there was a lot of scheduling and maneuvering to get me to join him. So I’m glad we were able to make it happen, but he was always very kind and gentle, so I’m really happy I had the opportunity to work with him.

There’s a montage that shows Joe and Maize falling in love, so it sounds like you had fun watching Dave’s character grow into a gentle giant throughout that sequence.

(Laughter.) Of course, and a gentle giant is also what (Dave) is. So I got to play off of his energy. (Joe) can be a little shy, and I really wanted Maize to be fiercely outgoing and very bubbly and happy to bring that smile out of him. When they have their first dinner date, she tells him, “You should smile more often, it suits you.” It was super sweet, and it was really fun for me to be that little bee buzzing around him to bring that cuteness out of him. So I thought that would be a nice contrast to (Joe’s) killer energy.

Dolly Parton’s line, “Don’t worry so much about making a living that you forget to make a life,” is the underlying message of this film. Is that something you’ve had to remember throughout your career?

Well, I’m lucky enough to really love what I do. I really enjoy it. I feel very alive when I’m making art and creating a character on set. So I appreciate every second of it and I don’t take it for granted. I also don’t feel like I’m repressing other aspects of my life, really. When I’m not filming on set, I take time to explore nature and do activities, which is something that’s very important to me. This year, I learned to freedive for the first time, and I found it to be very meditative and relaxing. So I explored things like that for the first time this summer, and it gave me a lot and was completely different from what I normally love to do. But once I got back to work, I felt very alive like I did when I was freediving. You get to take on various characters and various personalities, and it’s a different, but enjoyable, experience every time.

Sofia, I thought you looked great in the Rebel Moon Movies, and I knew it the moment Kora yelled “Stop!” to the soldiers attacking Sam (Charlotte Maggi) inside the barn. She was partly making a plea because she didn’t want to have to unleash Arthelais again. She’d been running from that side of herself for years.

Yes, I also explored a slightly more complex area. I compared it to the relationship someone might have with a form of addiction. They know what it feels like because it’s all they know and they have a hard time letting go of it. So I played it off as if she was addicted to it. She had been resisting it for a couple of years, but I knew that once she opened up to Arthelais again, there would be no stopping her. She would binge on that part of herself for quite a while, especially when it’s fueled by so much animosity, guilt, and intricate, complicated emotions. So yeah, that’s exactly how I played it. She was trying to keep Arthelais in a bottle for as long as possible, but in that moment inside the barn, she knew it was over. She was going to have to fight.

After being kidnapped as a child, Arthelais took comfort in the myth of the first Princess Issa, who was referred to as “The Redeemer.” Since Kora was on her own redemption arc, do you think she would eventually become the new Redeemer instead of the current Princess Issa?

Yes, of course. It’s a redemption story in every aspect, and she learned a lot from that moment (of the murder) when Issa tells her, “I forgive you.” It was something that Arthelais didn’t understand at the time, but as time went on, it gave her the strength to move on and not kill herself or let herself be killed despite that amount of guilt (she felt). That ultimately would have been an act of selfishness, but being forgiven by Issa and understanding forgiveness is the hardest work at the end of the day, and that’s the path she chose.

In a few decades, when you look back, Rebel Moon Experience, which day are you likely to remember first?

There are many, but I think it would be the day we were on our set in Santa Clarita and Zack was blowing everything up. I could also think of the conversation he has with Hagen (Ingvar Sigurdsson) at the beginning of the first film. At that moment I was finding the heart of the character, which was very important to me.

And what about the same question for The Assassin’s Game?

For The Assassin’s GameI enjoyed the beautiful city of Budapest and filming in all its stunning locations, but I think it was the day on the church set when Dave had to lift me up again and again.Laughter.) It was a lot of fun and it was a very funny movie. Compared to Rebel MoonThey are two very different projects.

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The Assassin’s Game It will be released in theaters on September 13th.

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