Chris Pratt Asked To Be Strapped Down For Real In His Upcoming Sci-Fi Thriller
Chris Pratt is taking commitment to a new level by asking to be physically locked down for his next movie. The 46-year-old actor stars in Mercy, a futuristic thriller arriving in theaters on January 23, 2026.
The film, directed by Timur Bekmambetov, imagines a justice system run by artificial intelligence, where judges no longer wear robes but are machines. The AI courts use everything from text messages and Facebook posts to doorbell camera footage to decide who’s guilty or innocent. At the center of the story is Chris’ character, a detective accused of murdering his wife. His entire trial unfolds while he’s physically strapped into a high-tech chair for 90 minutes, with the AI system analyzing his every move.
During a panel at New York Comic Con on October 9, the actor revealed that the setup wasn’t just a movie illusion. “I asked them to confine me in it,” he said, sitting beside co-star Kali Reis and director Bekmambetov. “So I didn’t have to pretend that I was strapped down.”
The actor explained that he was cuffed by his hands, feet and even his head at one point. “There’s a certain level of claustrophobia you just naturally feel when you’re strapped down to something,” he said, “and that was helpful, in fact.”
The production team offered to show him how to get out of the chair between takes but Pratt refused. “They said, ‘If you want to get out, just, pop, you do this,’” he recounted, adding, “Like, I don’t wanna get out. I want you to lock me in so I can’t get out. That would be helpful to me in giving this performance that I’m completely stuck here.”
Chris also shared that his character appears barefoot throughout the movie, a small nod to Bruce Willis’ Die Hard.
