A brand newMortal Enginestrailer has arrived. Peter Jackson brought one of the most epic and beloved trilogies of all time to the big screen withThe Lord of the Rings. WhileThe Hobbitwas much less beloved as a trilogy, the man knows how to handle fantasy movies on a massive scale arguably better than anyone else on the planet.Mortal Engineslooks to be right up his alley, but this also looks to be quite different than anything else he’s ever put his name on in the past.
The priorMortal Enginestrailer was very much a teaser, giving us a brief look at one of the big action set pieces. This gives us a much better idea of the true scope that this movie is handling and what it’s going to be about, at least in broad terms. The word epic is thrown around a lot, but this truly looks to be epic. Even thoughPeter Jacksonis only involved as an executive producer, his DNA seems to be all over this thing. Christian Rivers, who worked with Jackson as a visual effects artist onKing Kong, is directing.
Mortal Enginespicks up 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.
The movie is based on the series of books by the same name from author Philip Reeve. There are four books in the saga, which is no doubt why Universal, in part, was interested in the property. Franchises are king these days in Hollywood and if this first movie goes over well, they may have a new franchise on their hands. The cast includes Hugo Weaving, Hera Hilmar, Robert Sheehan, Jihae, Ronan Raftery, Leila George, Patrick Malahide and Stephen Lang. Any time we get to see Weaving as a villain, it tends to be good, even if the movie he’s in isn’t great.
Mortal Enginesarrives in theaters on December 14. It’s one of the movies that is trying to fill the gap since there is noStar Warsmovie coming out in December this year, but it’s a crowded space. That same day sees the release ofSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verseand a week later, bothBumblebeeandAquamanare slated to arrive. That doesn’t leave a tone of wiggle room for any of these movies, unless someone decides to back off. Be sure to check out the new full-lengthMortal Enginestrailer, courtesy of the Universal Pictures YouTube channel, for yourself below.
