David Mackenzie enjoyed directing 'slightly crazy' Fuze

David Mackenzie says that the "slightly crazy" nature of Fuze appealed to him.

The 59-year-old filmmaker has helmed the thriller that stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson as an expert who has to nullify a World War II bomb that is about to explode in London and the director was keen to work on the frantic movie after the slower nature of his 2024 flick Relay.

David told The Hollywood Reporter: "I'd just done Relay.

"It was quite lonely and intense... I felt like doing something a little bit more energised and slightly crazy. So it felt like the right time to be doing it."

Fuze was shot over the course of 38 days in London and Mackenzie has revealed how King Charles proved to be an unexpected obstacle to the production as his motorcade forced the closure of streets in the British capital.

Mackenzie said: "It was definitely a hassle. We had drone shots get cancelled on the day because there was something happening with the King."

However, Taylor-Johnson praised the crew for stepping up to the challenge of getting the film made in the hustle and bustle of London.

The Bullet Train star said: "I love filming in London and the local crews are exceptional.

"I think the challenge for us was locking off streets and having our background cast evacuate en masse. Then resetting, whilst letting the traffic pass through."

The film's run time is just 91 minutes and the story is set over the course of a single day, with Mackenzie making it his aim to ensure that Fuze is as "unrepentantly entertaining" as possible.

The Scottish director said: "It’s unrepentantly designed to be an entertaining film. I’ve been making films and it’s [a lot of] straddling the entertainment and the interesting, trying to get a bit of both. But I think this is probably my most unashamedly pure, entertaining film. And it’s very, very fast."

The Outlaw King director revealed that he was delighted that his casting choices for the flick - including Taylor-Johnson, Theo James and Sam Worthington - came together.

Mackenzie explained: "It’s a pre-condition of mine. I need to do the casting.

"There’s not much dialogue [in Fuze], but you get a real sense of personality … And if some of those characters that aren’t the leads are not firing on all cylinders, the film can really start flattening. But all those characters are alive and strong and doing good stuff."

Meanwhile, Aaron revealed that he delved deep into his research for the role of Army explosives specialist Major Will Tranter.

He said: "We dug deep to build the character. One example was bringing on Nick Orr, our professional EOD [Explosive Ordnance Disposal] consultant. I was genuinely inspired by his service."

The Nowhere Boy star added: "We had the opportunity to go through an ‘explosives boot camp', learning how to build and detonate them."