Inside Netflix’s War Machine: Alan Ritchson & Patrick Hughes on the Brutal Sci-Fi Action Epic

Netflix’s War Machine begins like a grounded military drama, following a group of soldiers pushed to their limits during the final stage of U.S. Army Ranger selection. But just when the film settles into that realistic and personal journey, director Patrick Hughes pulls the story into far stranger and more dangerous territory.

For ScreenRant’s latest Cover Story, we’re taking an inside look at Netflix’s new sci-fi action movie with star Alan Ritchson and director Patrick Hughes. The actor and filmmaker break down the nightmare that inspired the film's story, the physically punishing shoot, and how Ritchson brought the story’s relentless central character to life through the cast's camaraderie, shooting on location, and intense practical stunt work.

Alongside our extended chat, this War Machine feature includes a gallery of production stills from Netflix captured by unit photographer Ben King, highlighting the film’s demanding shoot.

From A Real-Life Nightmare To War Machine's Script

Before War Machine became Netflix’s latest action spectacle, the idea began with an image and experience Hughes couldn’t shake. While shooting his first film, Red Hill, the director was forced to abruptly clear a street set in a tiny town in the middle of the night. Moments later, something unexpected emerged from the darkness.

“Out of the dead of night, I saw this image. It was 200 soldiers. They all had numbers… they were fully kitted up with all their weaponry, and they were just jogging in dead silence followed by these military trucks.”

Hughes later learned the soldiers were taking part in the Australian SAS selection program, and the visual stuck with him. As he recalled, “That was such a stark image. It was highly cinematic.” The moment sent him down a research rabbit hole into researching elite military selection programs around the world.

“I felt like that was a really potent ground for storytelling to explore a character that wasn't about wanting to cross a finish line. It's like, ‘I need to cross a finish line for my own salvation.’”

The idea lingered in Hughes’ mind for years before another moment finally crystallized the story. After a nightmare about being hunted through a forest by a towering machine, he woke up with the film’s central concept fully formed. As Hughes put it, “And that's when I knew I'd found the hook for the narrative, and I sat down and wrote War Machine.”

Alan Ritchson’s Most Physically Demanding Role Yet

For Alan Ritchson, stepping into the role of the soldier known only as 81 meant pushing himself further physically than almost any project in his career. The actor is no stranger to demanding action roles, including his work on Reacher, Titans, and The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, and more, but War Machine placed him and the cast and crew in brutal terrain and real-world environments that left little room for shortcuts.

One of the clearest examples came during a sequence filmed in powerful class-five rapids. In explaining the importance of his stunt double, Ryan Tarran, in setting up stunts and reaching Ritchson how to do them safely, Ritchson admits he had concerns about jumping into the water that day because of how strong the current was.

“We were doing the class-five rapids, and I was a little concerned about jumping in that water and how that would work. And the currents were severe that day. He jumped in jeans, and his pockets were ripped off his pants. And he was like, ‘Just so you know, it's pretty strong down there. Here's what you have to do in case it pulls you down.’”

Moments like that shaped the philosophy behind the film’s stunt work. As Ritchson explained, “When the camera's in your face, I want the audience to experience what I'm experiencing,” which meant doing as much of the action himself as possible.

Even for an actor used to intense productions, the scale of the physical challenge stood out. The shoot required navigating steep mountainsides, plunging into fast-moving water, crossing zip lines, and running obstacle courses modeled on real Ranger Assessment training. As Ritchson put it, “There's really nothing you could do to prepare for that much physicality. You just got to get in there and do it.”

The intensity of the production also brought moments of real doubt. Ritchson said he sometimes returned home wondering how he would physically get through the next day of filming.

“There were a lot of moments of doubt for me, personally. I'd come home and I would have serious reservations about how I would figure out physically getting through the next day.”

Suffering Together Is What Bound The Cast Of War Machine

The brutal physical demands of War Machine created a shared experience that helped build the kind of camaraderie the film itself explores. The theme and term "brotherhood" is a key ingredient of the film. Long days in remote locations pushed the cast to rely on each other in ways that began to resemble the soldiers they were portraying.

Director Patrick Hughes even set that tone from the very beginning of production. On the first day of filming, he arranged the shooting schedule to gather the entire ensemble cast at the edge of a cliff for a massive stunt sequence that immediately threw everyone into the chaos of the story.

“Day one, take one, I wanted to set the tone. We had quite a big ensemble cast and we brought them all to the edge of the cliff. I called action, and we just got to hit the button and blew 12 people off a cliff with wire gags with massive explosions.”

Hughes recalled that Alex King, who plays 15 in the film and was making her feature debut, stood there stunned after the take. He turned to her and simply said, “Welcome to War Machine.”

As filming continued across the wilderness locations, the cast endured long days of physical stunts, harsh conditions, and emotional scenes that pushed everyone to their limits. Ritchson said that shared struggle created a rare bond among the actors, something he think is especially fitting given the roles they play.

“We're out there going through hell together and having to pick each other up, and keep pushing. And there's tears on set and there's blood, and you're going like, ‘We're going to keep going.’ Everybody's pushing each other.”

Ritchson described the experience as something deeper than a typical film set dynamic. “There's something galvanizing about that experience that you kind of don't get in normal civilian life,” he said.

Hughes tells us he saw the same thing from behind the camera. As he put it, “A bond is forged in fire.”

As production wrapped on War Machine, the final shot of the film placed Ritchson back in the uncomfortable rapids where one of the film's most intense set pieces had taken place. Hughes recalled how physically demanding the shoot had been, explaining that it was “absolutely grueling to another level.” As the two joked about the moment during the interview, Ritchson quipped that the rushing water helped hide his reaction, saying it really was “water and tears.”

The Alien Machine That Changes Everything

While War Machine begins in the grounded world of elite military training, the story pivots into something far stranger. Partway through the film, the soldiers encounter the towering alien machine that transforms their training exercise into a desperate fight for survival. It's so well executed that I wish it was a twist kept out of the marketing but more on that later.

For Hughes, the concept of the machine grew from both childhood inspiration and the larger themes driving the story. The director has spoken about the impact films like The Empire Strikes Back had on him as a young filmmaker, and that sense of scale helped shape the imposing presence of the creature at the center of War Machine.

“I remember Empire Strikes Back when that came out. That really was a gear shift moment. Of course with the Star Wars franchise, who doesn't want to tell a story about a giant robot tearing up the High Country?”

But the machine also serves a deeper symbolic purpose within the film’s narrative. Hughes explained that the relentless creature mirrors the internal struggle Ritchson’s character carries with him throughout the story.

“This machine represented his shadow. It doesn't matter how far you run, this thing is just not going to stop. As a human, we've got to stop and rest and eat, and this thing does not.”

Even with the massive scale of the creature, the filmmakers aimed to keep the action grounded in the same practical approach that defined the rest of the production. As Ritchson explained in our interview, “everything we did was practical,” with visual effects layered on afterward to complete the towering alien threat audiences see on screen.

The reveal of the alien machine might feel like the kind of twist designed to shock audiences, and Hughes admitted that was once part of the plan. In the earliest draft of the script, the machine was not mentioned at all.

“The first script I wrote had no mention. So it really was just this left-hand turn.”

But Hughes also acknowledged that once the film became a large-scale sci-fi action production, marketing decisions inevitably shaped how the concept was introduced to audiences.

“There's decisions that are made inside the marketing machines of studios about how we've got to market these films.”

Why Real Locations Made War Machine So Intense

One of the defining elements of War Machine was Patrick Hughes’ commitment to filming the story in real environments. Rather than relying heavily on sound stages or digital backdrops, the production traveled to remote wilderness locations across Australia and New Zealand, bringing cast, crew, and equipment deep into rugged terrain.

Hughes explained that the scale of the shoot often required helicopters just to get people and gear into place before cameras could even roll.

“Every single aspect of this film was shot on real world locations, in the real world wilderness. It was so remote that many of the locations we had to chopper cast and crew, and equipment, and it makes a really sort of grueling process. And then you're dealing with the long hours, and then it's that mental fatigue.”

Those conditions mirrored the very themes that drew Hughes to the story in the first place.

“That's really what the film explores. That's why I've been so fascinated with that Tier 1 selection program. What is the kind of person that applies to do that? And also what does it take? What is the definition of a warrior? It's not just physical strength. It's mental. And the most important is emotional strength.”

The logistical challenges made for an exhausting production schedule, but Hughes believed the authenticity was worth the effort. When the team finally saw the footage come together months later, the difficult conditions became part of what made the film work.

Looking back, Hughes admitted that time tends to soften the memory of just how difficult those conditions were. As he put it, “you forget that it was minus seven and snowing that day.”