After Moon and Source Code, filmmaker Duncan Jones had established himself as a fascinating new voice in the sci-fi universe. There’s a great balance between thought-provoking cinema and crowd pleaser in his first and second directing projects. However, his third offering was the long-mooted adaptation of game sensation Warcraft (or World of Warcraft) and let’s just say it was a hard watch.

I’m a big fan of Jones and don’t blame him for going for a big studio production, but I am thrilled that he used that negative experience to will his passion project Mute into existence. Jones has been working on Mute for more than a decade, but by all accounts, it has been work the wait and we have Netflix to thank for making it happen. In a recent interview, Jones revealed that is was the creative freedom Netflix offers its filmmakers that was the major factor in going with the streaming giant.

“Netflix, these crazy new kids on the block, had this totally crazy philosophy on film making straight out of the 70s. Don’t make 4 quad “please everyone” homogenous blobs! Make films fimmakers are passionate about & let the audience find them!”I’ve been working towards making Mute for 12 years nowI cannot tell you how thrilled I am that we’re finally going to shoot this utterly unique film…The fact that I get to make it with Alexander Skarsgard and Paul Rudd makes it all the more exciting! Mute is a film that will last. It is unlike any other science fiction being made today.”

Between Mute and Altered Carbon, Netflix has lots of Blade Runner style sci-fi while we wait 28 years for the next Blade Runner sequel. Starring Alexander Skarsgård, Paul Rudd, Justin Theroux, and a cameo from Sam Rockwell, Mute will be available worldwide on Netflix on February 23. Here’s the official synopsis;

Berlin, the future, but close enough to feel familiar: In this loud, often brutal city, Leo (Alexander Skarsgård) – unable to speak from a childhood accident – searches for his missing girlfriend, the love of his life, his salvation, through dark streets, frenzied plazas, and the full spectrum of the cities shadow-dwellers. As he seeks answers, Leo finds himself mixed up with Cactus Bill (Paul Rudd) and Duck (Justin Theroux), a pair of irreverent US army surgeons on a mission all their own. This soulful sci-fi journey from filmmaker Duncan Jones (Moon, Source Code, Warcraft) imagines a world of strange currencies in which echoes of love and humanity are still worth listening to.