Universal
Now that's a teaser...
I actually "snuck" into a 6:00 pm showing of The Last Jedi on Thursday night (with permission from the theater employees) between a showing of Call Me By Your Name and my 7:30 pm press screening of The Greatest Showman in order to watch the trailers attached to said Star Wars sequel, partially in the hopes that I would catch a glimpse of this "only in theaters" teaser for Mortal Engines. Alas, that the teaser was one of a few biggies (also Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) that didn't play with the Walt Disney blockbuster, although both Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War (that music!!) looked great on a big screen. But since Universal/Comcast Corp. just dropped the teaser online, I can now say... yeah, I wish I had seen this on the big screen.
I've written a lot about the idea of our culture being so entrenched in pop culture nostalgia and/or our lives being busy and financially challenging enough to the point where we as a general populace are unwilling/unable to take a chance on a theatrical moviegoing experience that isn't at least somewhat known. Not only do most of the big hits come from IP, but most of the franchises are revamped/rebooted variations of stuff that has already graced our cinematic screens a generation or two ago. Back in 1997, that The Fifth Element was unique, different and wholly original was to its box office advantage. But in 2017, that Valerian and the City of A Thousand Planets was merely based on a cult French comic book and had never been in movie theaters before was a fatal handicap. So, the burning question has been whether or not we would ever see a new-to-cinemas franchise achieve top-tier box office status again?
I'm not saying that Mortal Engines is that great hope. I'm not saying it will succeed where Valerian and Warcraft failed, although it would appear that this movie's budget was closer to Dunkirk than Jupiter Ascending. But if the theatrical movie industry is going to survive, it's going to have to do more than just pump out cover songs of our childhood hits. It can't be a glorified version of KidzBop. That's why this brief teaser is so exciting. I knew nothing about the picture beyond its existence as a new YA fantasy with Jackson producing and his longtime special effects artist Christian Rovers directing. But this single scene both is unlike anything I've ever seen and sets up what makes this post-apocalyptic scenario different from the likes of Divergent or The Hunger Games. Now one scene is not an entire movie, but if a job of a teaser is to whet the appetite for what comes next, then I'm am 100% on board for this one.
Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring came right as I was starting to burn out from the prototypical blockbuster fare, having come as it did after a very lousy summer movie season. It was a movie so damn good that it essentially restored my faith in the system, even if its success (along with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) paved the way to our current all blockbusters, all the time mentality. But, in what will be 15 years since Return of the King, Mortal Engines has a shot at showing that a "new to cinema" biggie can still kick ass and inspire new fans and new imaginations without relying on nostalgia or generational fandoms. The Dark Tower sure as hell didn't do it, so maybe it's time for the man who made us cry all over Middle Earth to save us from the endless loop of recycled franchises. No pressure, but Universal and MRC's Mortal Engines opens on Dec. 18, 2018, sixteen years after the debut of The Two Towers.
Ever since the third instalment of The Hobbit debuted in 2014, Peter Jackson has been remarkably absent from cinemas. Next Christmas, though, he will finally return with Mortal Engines.
Jackson has written and produced the adaptation of Phillip Reeve’s novel, with Christian Rivers — who acted as visual effects supervisor on Lord of the Rings, splinter unit director on The Hobbit, and has storyboarded every Jackson film since Braindead — directing.
The first trailer for the fantasy adventure has been released, showing the great mobile cities that characterised the novel.
Reeve's Mortal Engines series focuses on a steampunk version of London, the city mounted on a monstrous machine which rolls across the landscape in search of the planet's dwindling resources.
27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018
27 show all 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018
1/27 Black Panther Released: 12 February Director: Ryan Coogler Cast: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Forest Whitaker, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman
2/27 The Greatest Showman Released: 1 January Director: Michael Gracey Cast: Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya,
3/27 Darkest Hour Released: 12 January Director: Joe Wright Cast: Gary Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Ben Mendelsohn
4/27 Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri Released: 12 January Director: Martin McDonagh Cast: Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Caleb Landry Jones >
5/27 Coco Released: 19 January Director: Lee Unkrich ,p> Cast: Anthony Gonzalez, Gael García Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Renée Victor
6/27 Downsizing Released: 19 January Director: Alexander Payne Cast: Matt Damon, Christopher Waltz, Jong Chau, Kristen Wiig, Jason Sudeikis
7/27 Early Man Released: 26 January Director: Nick Park Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Tom Hiddleston, Maisie Williams, Timothy Spall
8/27 Fifty Shades Freed Released: 9 February Director: James Foley Cast: Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Kim Basinger
9/27 Maze Runner: The Death Cure Released: 9 February Director: Wes Ball Cast: Dylan O'Brien, Thomas Brodie Sangster, Kaya Scodelario, Giancarlo Esposito, Aidan Gillen
10/27 The Shape of Water Released: 16 February Director: Guillermo del Toro Cast: Sally Hawkins, Octavia Spencer, Michael Shannon, Michael Stuhlbarg, Doug Jones
11/27 Annihilation Released: 23 February Director: Alex Garland Cast: Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Lee, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Oscar Isaac
12/27 Dark River Released: 23 February Director: Clio Barnard Cast: Ruth Wilson, Mark Stanley, Sean Bean
13/27 Red Sparrow Released: 2 March Director: Francis Lawrence Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Jeremy Irons
14/27 Tomb Raider Released: 16 March Director: Roar Uthaug Cast: Alicia Vikander, Walton Goggins, Daniel Wu, Dominic West,
15/27 A Wrinkle in Time Released: 23 March Director: Ava DuVernay Cast: Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, Zach Galifianakis
16/27 Pacific Rim: Uprising Released: 23 March Director: Steven S. DeKnight Cast: John Boyega, Scott Eastwood, Charlie Day, Burn Gorman
17/27 Roman J Israel, Esq Released: 23 March Director: Dan Gilroy Cast: Denzel Washington, Colin Farrell, Carmen Ejogo
18/27 Isle of Dogs Released: 30 March Director: Wes Anderson Cast: Bill Murray, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton, Scarlett Johansson
19/27 Ready Player One Released: 30 March Director: Steven Spielberg Cast: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Mark Rylance, Simon Pegg
20/27 Avengers: Infinity War Released: 27 April Director: The Russo Brothers Cast: Robert Downey, Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Josh Brolin
21/27 Untitled Han Solo Film Released: 25 May Director: Ron Howard Cast: Alden Ehrenreich, Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson, Donald Glover
22/27 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Released: 8 June Director: J.A. Bayona Cast: Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Pine, B.D. Wong, Toby Jones
23/27 Deadpool 2 Released: 1 June Director: David Leitch Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, Zazie Beetz, Josh Brolin
24/27 Ocean's 8 Released: 22 June Director: Gary Ross Cast: Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Anne Hathaway, Olivia Munn, Helena Bonham Carter, Rihanna, Matt Damon
25/27 Ant-Man and the Wasp Released: 29 June Director: Peyton Reed Cast: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer
26/27 Soldado Released: 29 June Director: Stefano Sollima Cast: Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin, Jeffrey Donovan, Catherine Keener, Matthew Modine
27/27 The Incredibles 2 Released: 13 July Director: Brad Bird Cast: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Samuel L. Jackson
The cast includes Lord of the Rings alumni Hugo Weaving, along with Stephen Lang, Robert Sheehan, and Hera Hilmar starring.
The official synopses reads: "Thousands of years after civilization was destroyed by a cataclysmic event, humankind has adapted and a new way of living has evolved. Gigantic moving cities now roam the Earth, ruthlessly preying upon smaller traction towns. Tom Natsworthy (Robert Sheehan)— who hails from a Lower Tier of the great traction city of London — finds himself fighting for his own survival after he encounters the dangerous fugitive Hester Shaw (Hera Hilmar). Two opposites, whose paths should never have crossed, forge an unlikely alliance that is destined to change the course of the future."
After announcing Mortal Engines, Jackson said: "Christian is one of my closest collaborators. The combination of emotion and jaw-dropping visuals in Mortal Engines makes this the perfect movie for his move into feature directing.
“What Christian intends to do with Philip Reeve’s terrific story is going to result in an original and spectacular movie. I wish I could see it tomorrow!”
Mortal Engines reaches cinemas 14 December 2018.
