Amazon Prime unveiled the latest teaser of its new conspiracy series, Utopia, and it reveals the level of insanity viewers could expect.
The new trailer hints of a messy, strange and thrilling story that follows a group of comic book fans on a high-stakes quest. However, these fans slowly realize a hidden conspiracy in the pages of their favorite reading material, Dystopia, the Utopia sequel.
The show, set to premiere on Sept. 25, is based on a British series from 2013. HBO originally planned to adapt the story with writer and director David Fincher, but disputes over the budget affected the development.
Amazon Prime, however, swooped at the chance to develop the series with Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn. The American version of Utopia also enlisted the creator of the British series, Dennis Kelly, on board as executive producer.
Gillian Flynn says it’s “extraordinarily surreal”
Utopia was shot in 2018 in Chicago, but it has a timely storyline: a pandemic. Prior to the real-life lockdown, Flynn had been flying back and forth from Los Angeles for work to her home in Chicago until everything in the world stopped because of the virus.
The showrunner told The Hollywood Reporter that she had to do the final edits of a pandemic series during the pandemic lockdown in March, which was an “extraordinarily surreal” experience.
“I was looking at footage on my computer and then looking up at the TV at the news was very strange,” the showrunner said.
#UTOPIA PREMIERES ON AMAZON ON SEPTEMBER 25. I play a (very serious) scientist trying to save the world from a deadly virus. Sound familiar? @UtopiaOnPrime @Amazon This show is a TON of fun! “What have you done to earn your place in this crowded world?" pic.twitter.com/wEtIgCJrKQ
— RainnWilson (@rainnwilson) September 10, 2020
Not the same as the British version
Utopia might just be the perfect show to watch in this current state of the world, according to CNet. Coincidentally, the story also starts off with a bat-based virus that expands into crazy conspiracies. However, the review still prefers the original version to the American adaptation.
The AV Club thinks that the American version of Utopia pales in comparison to the British series. The original had a “black comedy vibe” that’s missing from the U.S. take. The twists are also predictable and the characters are anticlimactic.
Deadline stated that the violence of Amazon‘s Utopia is toned down compared to the British series. Apparently, Flynn did this intentionally.
“I don’t want it for a cartoon effect or for shock value,” she revealed. “I think we as an audience are past most of that as pure shock value.”
The showrunner also said that her version has a different tone and feel like Kelly’s original. While the British creator made a “Britpop” Utopia, Flynn said the Amazon version is more like “The Goonies meets Marathon Man.”
Utopia will be available for all of Amazon Prime’s subscribers in 200 countries.
Image courtesy of Amazon Prime UK/YouTube