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Following its world premiere on February 24, 2025, The Electric State, a sci-fi action adventure, dropped on Netflix on March 14, 2025. Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, the movie is a loose adaptation of Simon Stålenhag's 2018 illustrated graphic novel.
Set in the post-robot-human war era of the alternate 90s history, The Electric State follows the story of an orphaned teenager named Michelle (Millie Bobby Brown). She embarks on a journey across the American West along with her cartoon-inspired robot companion Cosmo (Alan Tudyk) to find her younger brother, Christopher (Woody Norman).
Later, Michelle and Cosmo team up with Keats (Chris Pratt) and his robot sidekick Herman (Anthony Mackie). As the movie progresses, the team of four meets a group of sentient robots hiding at an abandoned shopping mall known as Blue Sky Acres. Mr. Peanut is the de facto figurehead of this group. While Terry Notary is the motion capture actor, Woody Harrelson is the voice actor behind Mr. Peanut.
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Mr. Peanut is notably the advertising logo and mascot of the American snack-food company Planters, owned by Hormel. He is an anthropomorphic version of a peanut in its shell, dressed like an old gentleman, and is reported to be of British heritage.
Disclaimer: The following article contains major spoilers for The Electric State. Reader's discretion is advised.
The Electric State: Mr. Peanut's role explored
At the beginning of The Electric State, Mr. Peanut leads the robots' revolution against humans. He guides the robots in their struggle for independence against human forces. As a radical leader, he even delivers some passionate speeches about the rights of the robots. One part of his speech is:
"We were built to think, but they don’t want us to! We were built to work, but never for ourselves! Our destiny isn’t theirs to decide!"
After the war between robots and humans in the alternate reality of the '90s, Mr. Peanut signs the Treaty of Surrender with President Clinton. Following this, he seems to have taken refuge alongside many others like him in the abandoned Blue Sky Acres.
Michelle, Cosmo, Keats, and Herman meet Mr. Peanut after some of the sentient robots capture them, assuming that the humans are dangerous. Mr. Peanut is the head of these robots and is portrayed as a war hero and a symbol of peace.
Despite being initially reluctant, he helps Michelle and her team find Christopher. The robots once again wage war under his leadership, but this time, they fight against robot-like drones operated by humans. At the end of the movie, the robots ultimately win the war when the humans lose access to their drones, with the Neurocaster technology cut off after Christopher's death.
The Russo Brothers on the robots in The Electric State
Mr. Peanut is not a character from Simon Stålenhag's graphic novel. It is an original character designed for the movie. Speaking to FILMHOUNDS in an interview dated March 15, 2025, Joe Russo revealed that they had to put their own twist on the robots because the ones in the book would not have been visually pleasing. He said:
"We knew we needed to have a tonal shift with the robots because some are grotesque and very dark in the book. [...] Walt Disney created the robots and enhanced their cartoon appeal."
Joe Russo explained that this decision was in line with their vision to reach a broader audience, which would not have been possible if the robots appeared threatening.
In the same interview, Anthony Russo also reflected on Woody Harrelson's casting as Mr. Peanut. He said:
"We always imagined him [Mr. Peanut] as a bit of an Atticus Finch character and we wanted somebody that had intellectual integrity but also easy relatability. That also leads us to a wonderful actor like Woody Harrelson."
Harrelson, born on July 23, 1961, in Texas, rose to fame with the TV series Cheers (1982). He has appeared in several movies, including Doc Hollywood (1991), No Country for Old Men (2007), and Game Change (2012). The actor is also known for his portrayal of Haymitch Abernathy in the 2012 movie The Hunger Games.
The Electric State is available to stream on Netflix.
