Universal Pictures has released the trailer for the Peter Jackson-co-written film adaptation of Phillip Reeves’ post-apocalyptic, steampunk novel Mortal Engines.
The film is set in a future that follows the “Sixty Minutes War,” which ravaged the Earth, causing cataclysmic events such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Nicholas Quirke attached engines, gears, and wheels to the city of London making it mobile and able to consume other cities. The technology spread and the world now exist in a state of “municipal Darwinism.”
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Check out the trailer above.
Here’s the synopsis released by Universal:
“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.
Mortal Engines is the startling, new epic adventure directed by Oscar-winning visual-effects artist Christian Rivers (King Kong). Joining Rivers are The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogies three-time Academy Award®-winning filmmakers Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, who have penned the screenplay. The Universal and MRC adaptation is from the award-winning book series by Philip Reeve, published in 2001 by Scholastic.
On board as producers are Zane Weiner (The Hobbit trilogy), Amanda Walker (The Hobbit trilogy) and Deborah Forte (Goosebumps), as well as Walsh and Jackson. Ken Kamins (The Hobbit trilogy) joins Boyens as executive producer. Universal will distribute the film worldwide.”
What do you think of the trailer for Mortal Engines? Let us know in the comments!
Reeves’ original novel was the first in a quartet set in the same universe as Mortal Engines. Perhaps if Jackson’s take on Mortal Engines does well the rest of the novels in the series will be adapted into sequels as well.
Mortal Engines opens in theaters on December 14th.
