Alan Ritchson has a theory about why audiences are craving something different at the movies these days than Marvel. The Reacher star, who leads the new sci-fi action thriller War Machine, recently opened up about what he calls the “Marvelization” of Hollywood and why he believes viewers are ready for a change.

Alan Ritchson on how War Machine is different from Marvel-type movies

Ritchson has made it clear that War Machine takes a radically different approach. While Marvel movies have dominated theaters for over a decade with their invincible heroes and universe-spanning stakes, War Machine aims to bring things back down to earth.

War Machine tells the story of a combat engineer known as 81, played by Ritchson. After witnessing his brother’s death in battle, he enlists in Army Ranger training and ends up leading his unit against a mysterious and terrifying machine during a grueling mission across treacherous terrain.

The difference is that it isn’t about saving the universe. It’s about survival. “There’s no secret that people are sort of over watching Marvel-type movies. Our goal is to create a protagonist who is hanging on by a thread,” Ritchson explained to The Hollywood Reporter. “Can we drag somebody to the brink of death and shoot it in a way that feels real and visceral so that people can actually relate to it on a human level?”

That human connection seems to be the secret sauce. While the film delivers the action sequences, gory battles, and futuristic chaos you’d expect from a sci-fi thriller, it spends just as much time on fear, leadership, and the desperate drive to keep going.

“People are suffering out there. Life is hard, man,” Ritchson added. “By crossing the finish line at the end of the movie, we remind ourselves that we can get through another day. As fun as this movie is, there’s something deeply human that we can connect to. ‘If 81 can get through that and get across the finish line, maybe I can too in my own life.’”

Ritchson’s War Machine can be streamed on Netflix.