Amazon’s has released a trailer for their upcoming remake of Channel 4’s ‘Utopia‘, which premieres Autumn 2020 on Prime Video.
The 9-episode series comes from award-winning Gillian Flynn (‘Sharp Objects’, ‘Gone Girl’), the best-selling author and screenwriter of Golden Globe-nominated ‘Gone Girl’, HBO’s award-winning ‘Sharp Objects’, and is based on Channel 4 series of the same name. The series centres on a group of comic fans who meet online and bond over their obsession of a seemingly fictional comic called, “Utopia.” Together, Ian (Dan Byrd), Becky (Ashleigh LaThrop), Samantha (Jessica Rothe), Wilson Wilson (Desmin Borges) and Grant (Javon “Wanna” Walton) unearth hidden meanings cloaked within the pages of “Utopia,” predicting threats to humanity. They realize these are not just the makings of a conspiracy; they are very real dangers coming alive right now in their world. The high-stakes adventure brings the group face-to-face with the comic’s famed central character, Jessica Hyde (Sasha Lane), who joins them on their mission to save the world while harbouring secrets of her own…
During the ComicCon@Home panel, Flynn talks about the differences between the original Denis Kelly version, and her take on the story. She does say she “loved” the original she points out it is “very British, but very translatable… and beautiful to look at… it takes its cue very much from the idea of graphic novels.” She goes on to add her idea wasn’t just to update it for the American audience, but also make it “gritty and dirty and nasty, in a very realistic way. Whereas he took his from the graphic novels themselves, I took my cue more from the 70s paranoia thrillers that I love that came out after Watergate… In that era when no one trusted anyone, and there was a breakdown in what society and the world was feeling.”
You can watch the whole ComicCon@Home ‘Utopia’ panel below:
The cast for this new version includes Sasha Lane (‘American Honey’) who takes the lead role of Jessica Hyde, the tough and feral girl who has spent her life on the run from shadowy organisations, but believes all the answers about her perplexing life story may be hidden in the ‘Utopia’ graphic novel; John Cusack (‘High Fidelity’, ‘Grosse Pointe Blank’) plays Dr. Kevin Christie a character who is not in the UK version. He’s a charismatic, media-savvy and brilliant biotech billionaire who wants to change the world through science; Cory Michael Smith (‘Gotham’) is set to play the bright and ambitious Thomas Christie, son of Cusack’s Kevin; And Rainn Wilson (‘Star Trek: Discovery’, ‘The Office US’) takes the role of Michael Stearns, a once a promising virologist, but now a forgotten scientist who’s lost his edge;
The series is a co-production between Endemol Shine North America, Kudos, an Endemol Shine Group UK production studio, and Amazon Studios. Flynn is the creator, executive producer and showrunner of ‘Utopia’, and executive producers include Jessica Rhoades (who Flynn collaborated with on ‘Sharp Objects’), Sharon Hall, Karen Wilson, Dennis Kelly and Diederick Santer. Sharon Levy, President, Unscripted & Scripted Television, Endemol Shine North America, will oversee production for Endemol Shine.
‘Utopia‘ Season 1 is set to premiere Autumn (or Fall for the Americans reading this) 2020.
