Michael Fassbender has given us some amazing characters, from playing Magneto in the X-Men franchise, the titular Steve Jobs in Danny Boyle’s biographical drama, a brutally cruel Louisiana plantation owner in 12 Years a Slave, and a cold assassin in David Fincher’s The Killer. The actor tends to surprise his audience with each role. The actor also put his spy skills on display in fan favorite The Agency and 2011’s Haywire, and he makes a compelling spy, giving most on-screen sleuths a run for their money.
Fassbender, last year, came out with Black Bag, which blends his spy skills with matrimonial issues, turning the story into a mean psychological thriller. Directed by Ocean Eleven’s Steven Soderbergh and written by Jurassic Park scribe David Koepp, the film follows British intelligence officer George Woodhouse (Fassbender), who is given one week to uncover the source of a catastrophic security leak. His shortlist of suspects includes his equally talented, legendary agent wife, Kathryn (Cate Blanchett), forcing him to test his loyalty to his marriage.
With an all-star cast, the movie failed to bring audiences to theaters, earning $43.4 million worldwide on a $50–60 million budget. Nonetheless, it garnered good word-of-mouth and critical acclaim, garnering a 96% Rotten Tomatoes score. The movie has some great performances; Fassbender plays George with a chilling, hyperfastidious intensity while Blanchett delivers a masterclass in controlled panic, which will keep you guessing about her allegiances. Further, Pierce Brosnan brings a cynical charm as the agency head, Stieglitz, while Regé-Jean Page and Marisa Abela shine in their respective roles.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
‘Black Bag’ Has a New Home
With solid performances and themes of honesty vs. survival, matrimonial deceit, and a thrilling premise that trades a battlefield for a living room interrogation, the film broke out on streaming. Black Bag finally found its audience, frequently appearing on top 10 lists, and rightfully so. Now, fans who’d love to revisit the feature or check it out for the first time are in luck. Black Bag is coming to Peacock this July, leaving behind its current home at Prime Video. With a new streamer, the feature will get more eyes and will certainly rise to the top 10 charts in the coming days. Before that, you can check out Fassbender in The Agency Season 2, dropping on June 21.
Black Bag drops on Peacock on July 2. Stay tuned to Collider for more such updates.
