tech
December 30, 2025
‘Move fast, break stuff’: how tech bros became Hollywood’s go-to baddie in 2025
From Stanley Tucci’s imperious tech titan to Lex Luthor’s distractingly hot CEO and Elon Musk-esque blowhards, films this year took us inside the billionaire mindset
TL;DR
- Films in 2025 have heavily featured tech billionaires as villains, mocking their mindset and jargon.
- Characters like Stanley Tucci's Ethan Skate in 'The Electric State' and Nicholas Hoult's Lex Luthor in 'Superman' embody these tropes.
- Jemaine Clement's Alton Appleton in 'M3gan 2.0' and Danny Huston's Richard Cane in 'The Naked Gun' reboot satirize tech bro obliviousness and Musk/Bezos-like figures.
- Kevin Bacon's Bob Garbinger in 'The Toxic Avenger' skewers biohackers, while Evan Peters' Julian Dillinger in 'Tron: Ares' represents a nepo baby tech huckster.
- Jesse Armstrong's 'Mountainhead' features a quartet of billionaires, including a Musk-alike, highlighting the dangers of AI-augmented misinformation and their exploitative nature.
- The article suggests these portrayals reflect the disproportionate influence of tech overlords in the real world and questions the need for continued exposure in cinema.
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