Utopia, a darkly comedian conspiracy thriller collection from government producer Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl, Sharp Objects), is coming to Amazon Prime Video this fall, and Flynn and the present’s stars John Cusack, Sasha Lane, Ashleigh LaThrop, Desmin Borges, and Dan Byrd gathered for a digital panel to preview the unintentionally well timed present, which offers with a devastating new virus spreading throughout America.
Utopia, an adaptation of a 2013 British collection of the identical title, facilities on a gaggle of comedian e-book followers who bond on-line over their obsession with a comic book referred to as Utopia, which they imagine is not fictional, however is crammed with prophetic hidden meanings concerning the finish of the world. Their theories are confirmed true, they usually discover themselves on the middle of a harmful conspiracy and on the run alongside the comedian’s major character, Jessica Hyde (Lane), a really ruthless, scary one who confirms the cliché that it is best to by no means meet your heroes. They’re only a bunch of nerds, but it surely’s as much as them to unravel the conspiracy and save the world. Throughout the panel, Flynn described it as “The Goonies meets Marathon Man.” Cusack takes on his first collection common function as Dr. Kevin Christie, the CEO of a biomedical firm whose synthetic meat is spreading a virus which may be a part of bringing concerning the finish occasions.
Filming was accomplished by the point the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, however the present’s themes of paranoia and lack of religion in establishments have solely turn into extra related within the pandemic period, Flynn mentioned. The solid agreed that it was very unusual to see the similarities on the planet and their present. “It was form of disturbing and surreal to see it come so intently to life with the pandemic,” Cusack mentioned. And the solid is not apprehensive concerning the collection hitting too near dwelling for viewers who’re searching for an escape from life within the pandemic.
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“That is certainly not, like, a docudrama actuality we’re residing in,” Byrd mentioned. “That is very a lot a type of comedian e-book frequency that the pandemic is taking part in out in, so I do not actually see folks watching it and feeling like, ‘that is like watching the information’ or one thing that is hitting too near dwelling.” He mentioned he thinks the collection is an ideal mix of escapism and relevance, because the themes are well timed and have real-world resonance however their context is completely completely different, and the present is absolutely concerning the journey the characters go on.
The present is at occasions gruesomely violent, and Flynn was requested to justify the aim of the violence within the storytelling. She mentioned that she desires the viewers to really feel as uncomfortable and squeamish because the characters, who’re sheltered folks being uncovered to violence for the primary time. “These are people who find themselves actually cerebral [and] have lived lots on-line,” she mentioned. They’re juxtaposed with Jessica Hyde, who has lived her entire life within the “actual world” and could be very snug with violence. “There’s the distinction between, the form of geeks of the Comedian-Con and the form of cosplay characters who consider violence in a comic book e-book manner, versus the distinction when that story of the comedian e-book involves life, after which they’ve to fulfill the precise characters within the comedian,” Cusack added. The violence makes the present really feel extra genuine and sensible, they mentioned. Viewers can resolve for themselves when the present comes out whether or not or not that is true.
Utopia is coming to Amazon Prime Video this fall.
Dan Byrd, Desmin Borges, Jessica Rothe, and Ashley LaThrop, Utopia