A ticking bomb in the heart of London sets the stage for “Fuze,” a taut new British crime thriller from director David Mackenzie. The film, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, combines the urgency of a heist film with the dread of an unexploded World War II bomb unearthed at a bustling construction site.
Written by Ben Hopkins, the feature stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Theo James, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Sam Worthington. As the military and police scramble to evacuate the city against the clock, chaos unfolds across London’s streets.
For Mackenzie, whose credits include the best picture-nominated “Hell or High Water” and “Outlaw King,” the concept was born years ago.
“I wanted to mash up the tensions of the heist movie with an unexploded bomb movie,” Mackenzie tells Variety in the TIFF Studio. “In the U.K., there’s always a discovery of an unexploded World War II bomb somewhere. Evacuations are forced, and they’re often blown up in situ. It felt like a very real thing to lean into. With ‘Fuze,’ I just wanted to make something purely entertaining, visceral and cinematic — not trying to be a message film. It’s a high-tension, hopefully enjoyable ride.”
At just over 90 minutes, Mackenzie calls it his leanest feature yet: “I genuinely want the audience to feel a sense of relief that it’s over and to have had a good, entertaining experience of a thrilling, high-tension, modern heist movie.”
Mbatha-Raw, who plays Chief Superintendent Zuzana, says she was drawn to the project’s realism and immediacy.
“When I read the script, it felt so propulsive, almost like it was playing out in real time,” she shares. “I hadn’t played a police officer before, and I was excited to tackle something this grounded and gritty. I got to meet with London-based police officers and observe command centers like the one my character oversees. That was a fascinating insight.”
Mbatha-Raw praises Mackenzie’s style: “His long takes and constantly moving camera feel so authentic and exhilarating. Watching it with an audience for the first time, I was on the edge of my seat — even though I knew what was going to happen.”
Worthington, who reunites with Mackenzie after several collaborations, said his character X didn’t exist in early drafts.
“I just phoned David and said, ‘What can I do in this one?’ He told me all the roles were gone,” Worthington recalls. “But when I read it, I thought I could do something with this henchman figure in Theo’s gang. I asked him to let me create something, and David gave me that trust. That freedom allowed me to help serve the story and be a foil for Theo.”
Worthington, best known for his role as Jake Sully in James Cameron’s “Avatar” franchise, added that Mackenzie’s confidence in his actors keeps him coming back: “He trusts me, which is fantastic. Then you can just go and create.”
Alongside Taylor-Johnson and James, the cast builds tension through two opposing forces — the bomb squad and the robbery gang.
“They’re both really strong actors, deeply committed to what they’re doing,” Mackenzie says of Taylor-Johnson and James. “Aaron brings a very real representation of the Army EOD squad, while Theo delivers this visceral energy as part of the robbery crew. It was great to work with them both.”
While Mackenzie called “Fuze” his “pure cinematic entertainment” effort, he teased a passion project long in the works: an adaptation of a generational spaceship travel novel spanning 100 years.
“It’s incredibly complex, a 190-page script at the moment,” he admits. “If realized properly, it could be a heck of a trip. That’s something I’d still love to find a home for.”
For Mbatha-Raw, the role marked another chance to explore range. “I’d love to do a two-hander on film — something really intimate and soulful. I’m always looking for characters with depth,” she shares.
And for Worthington, with off “Avatar: Fire and Ash” on the horizon, “Fuze” proved another chance to collaborate with a trusted director. “It’s all about whether a movie connects with an audience,” he said. “If it does, you hope you get the chance to keep telling these stories.”
Worthington also offered an update on James Cameron’s sprawling “Avatar” sequels. He confirmed that Avatar 2 and 3 were shot together, with portions of 4 filmed as well to accommodate the younger cast’s aging. “There was a scene or two where the kids had to be the same age, so we shot that back in 2018 or 2019,” he explains. He added that Cameron has written Avatar 4 and 5 in full, teasing that the saga will jump forward in time if audiences continue to embrace the films. “We’re not arrogant enough to assume they’ll keep connecting, but if they do, we get to keep telling the story.”
Worthington also addressed the uncertain future of Kevin Costner’s “Horizon” saga, in which he had a significant role. He confirms that Costner had mapped out and written four films, with Worthington having read all of them, but the project’s continuation now rests in limbo. “That was Costner’s passion project — he’d been working on it for 10 years,” Worthington says. “It all comes down to whether the audience connects. The passion is always there, but sometimes it’s just about whether it’s the right time for people to embrace it.”
