“I believe in angels,” Robbie Williams once warbled mawkishly. We don’t know what kind of angels the crooner had in mind, but it’s unlikely to have been the variety that take centre stage in new apocalyptic thriller Legion: gun-toting warriors who do battle in a US diner. Director and visual effects developer Scott Stewart talks to Bryan Cairns about his heavenly creatures…

What’s your take on angels in Legion?

Looking back at the paintings, illustrations, and biblical literature throughout history, you see the archangel Michael [Paul Bettany] portrayed with the flaming sword. These guys are portrayed as warriors, not little babies with feathered wings! Instead, they were depicted with armour of that time period.

Here, I’m just saying what would a contemporary warrior look like? The wings are both a shield and a weapon. You have to watch out because they will slice you in half and repel bullets. Then you have all sorts of mysterious angel weaponry. Gabriel [Kevin Durand] carries this mace that does all sorts of fun stuff while Michael has a knife and a sword. Then there’s machine guns because why not? If he has to go out and protect these people and this girl, Michael is going to use whatever means necessary to do it.

There are no halos or harps in sight either.

There’s a halo in the trailer where Michael cuts off his wings, the halo disappears, and the collar falls apart. We call those halo collars because what it’s doing is projecting a halo in the rain above his head. You wouldn’t normally see it, but you see it lighting up the rain. That’s a nod to it so you understand what he was. There’s a back story hinted at that when he cuts off those wings, the halo disappears, and you get the sense he’s free.

What gives this ragtag group of humans a fighting chance against this angel onslaught?

Well, Michael gives them an edge. They are also armed to the teeth. It starts out as sheer numbers and they are able to repel them with their fire power. Then it becomes more insidious and psychological where it’s just about preying on their fears and looking for their weaknesses. It takes a very different turn.

First it’s all fire power with them repelling wave after wave before the movie settles down and it’s all about them coming apart at the seams and talking about why they might be trapped at this diner. In that respect, the movie becomes a bit of a meditation of faith.

Was it challenging balancing the action, horror, those faith elements, and somehow managing to keep the characters real?

Yeah, that was the biggest hat trick of all because the movie is meant to be a fun ride that is scary but doesn’t take itself too seriously. At the same time, we wanted to take the emotional aspects of the story seriously so that you genuinely care about the characters since you spend a lot of time with them. I didn’t want to do a 10 Little Indians thing waiting for the next guy to drop off. The violence should mean something.

I designed the suspense and action sequences in a very particular way so hopefully they work. For the dramatic scenes, I wrote the script and then worked on it with all the actors. I gave them a lot of latitude to try and make the characters their own. There’s some moving moments in the movie that will hopefully make it stand out from others of its ilk.

Do you feel Legion would have been possible without an R rating considering the success Sony Screen Gems has had with PG-13 supernatural fare?

Yeah, the movie is definitely not PG-13. I think Sam Raimi was trying to do that with Drag Me To Hell, but I’d have to see it to know if it worked. Legion tries to push your buttons. It does some pretty violent things. It’s not an excessively gory movie for the sake of being gory; it’s always for a reason, because I’m not into all that stuff. I don’t want it to be any bloodier than it needs to be, but I want it to be visceral. It felt like you really needed to see certain things. They needed to be very sudden and very disturbing.

Why does there seem to be such a fascination with angels and the apocalypse?

We’re getting that question a lot right now. I don’t really have much comment as far as my timing because the movie happened when it happened. I would have made it a few years ago if I could have.

Why did the stars align and it got made now? I think it’s the zeitgeist with all these apocalyptic movies like Legion, Book of Eli, The Road, and 2012. Legion happens to be pre-apocalyptic in the beginning so it’s very different than The Road or Eli which is 30 years after judgment day. It’s The Terminator future. Legion isn’t like that and tells a very intimate story because it implies a global phenomenon, but is telling it with a small ensemble of characters in a diner.

Does Legion end here or do you have an idea for a sequel?

It definitely has a resolution, but it also has an epilogue which is quite open ended. You do get the sense the survivors carry on which is also part of the Legion: Prophecies graphic novels which we did as well. There are characters that are referenced in the movie, but not seen. The story is part of that so yes, there’s definitely additional stories in the works depending on how well the film is received.

You’ve put your stamp on the apocalyptic genre so what’s your spin on vampires in the upcoming Priest?

It’s a war movie and very different. The vampires are not human, they don’t speak English, they’re albino, they live in hives, and they don’t sparkle in the daylight. They’re totally feral, they don’t wear sexy body suits. It’s a very R rated movie.

The vampires are this mysterious alien tribe to us and are considered mortal enemies to the characters. There’s a lot more nuance that gets worked into it. The film is really about the aftermath of a war, the things it does to people, and the sacrifices they make.

Legion is out now in UK cinemas.