Horizon: Zero Dawn – Picture: Sony PlayStation
Netflix is venturing big into video games, and aside from actual video games, the streamer is also developing a number of adaptations of popular titles from various publishers including 2K Games, Ubisoft and others. One other major project is from Sony in the form of Horizon, which will be a live-action adaptation of the Horizon game series that follow Aloy in her quest across post-apocalyptic USA that is mostly populated by mechanical creatures.
No directors or cast are known to be attached at this stage, but we do know that Carter Swan and Asad Qizilbash. Both are very prominent figures when it comes to live-action adaptations of PlayStation titles as they have also produced Uncharted as well as the upcoming adaptations for The Last of Us, Ghost of Tsushima, and Twisted Metal.
The series was originally announced in May 2022 with PlayStation Productions and Sony Pictures Television behind the Netflix series.
Horizon is the video game series from Dutch developer Guerrilla Games who are also best known for the Killzone franchise.
Here’s everything else we know about Netflix’s Horizon live-action adaptation:
What’s the plot of Horizon?
Horizon Zero Dawn – Picture: Playstation
The story of the original game, Horizon Zero Dawn, is set in the post-apocalyptic United States in the 31st century.
Humans live in scattered, primitive tribes with varying levels of technological development. Their technologically advanced predecessors are remembered as the “Old Ones”. Large robotic creatures, known as “machines”, dominate the Earth. For the most part, they peacefully coexist with humans, who occasionally hunt them for parts.
In the main game, we follow Aloy who grew up without parents and lived isolated from the four tribes. She grows up and eventually has to investigate a phenomenon known as the “Derangement” which has caused machines to become more aggressive towards humans, and larger and deadlier machines have begun to appear.
Here’s a rundown of the four tribes, the Nora, the Banuk, the Carja and the Oseram.:
“The Nora are fierce hunter-gatherers who live in the mountains and worship nature as the “All-Mother”.
The Carja are desert-dwelling city builders who worship the Sun.
The Banuk consists of wandering clans made up of hunters and shamans who live in snowy mountains and worship the machines and their “songs”.
The Oseram are tinkerers and salvagers known for their metalworking, brewing, and talent as warriors.”
Here’s the trailer for the first game, which was released in 2017:
A second game called Horizon Forbidden West released in 2022.
Will the Netflix adaptation be faithful to the original first game?
It’s hard to say for certain, but taking the entire history of video game adaptations, we probably shouldn’t expect Horizon to be a faithful retelling of the game’s story. Especially considering the newest Resident Evil live-action series from Netflix that doesn’t have a whole lot to do with the plot of any of the games.
Who is cast in Horizon?
No cast have been announced for Netflix’s Horizon series as of June 2022.
Aloy, for those who don’t know, is voiced by Ashly Burch in the game. Lance Reddick, John MacMillan, and John Hopkins all notably voiced characters in the game too.
Ashly Burch – Picture: Guerrilla Games
One of the most popular fan choices around the internet for the role of Aloy has lately been Sadie Sink, as the Horizon announcement almost the same day as Stranger Things Season 4 was released, which was also amplified by the fact that Sink’s Max has a very exciting and memorable scene, which the internet also loved. Lyndon Smith is also often mentioned in online circles for the role.
Another suggestion has been Aloy’s face model, the Dutch model, and actress Hannah Hoekstra, but it’s very unlikely Netflix would make a choice to cast the literal face model for the game Aloy as it would be too close to the games and adaptations generally don’t do that.
What’s the production of Horizon?
Filming, according to the Canadian Director’s Guild, will begin for the title which is going under Horizon 2074 in late August 2022.
They state that production and post-production will have wrapped by the close of March 2023.
They also list the following under art:
- Mark Steel
- Michele Brady
- Kathleen Vernice Chavez
- Grant Corless
- Catherine Liddell
- Rosalie Mackintosh
- Cheryl Wan
- Natalie Yeung
- Anastasiya Tkachuk
- Adrienne Turner
- Elham Morshedi
What’s the Netflix release date for Horizon?
Netflix hasn’t set a release date for its Horizon live-action adaptation, but considering the 2022 production start, we should probably expect the first season to drop on the streamer perhaps in early 2024.
For more on Netflix’s video game adaptations coming up, check out our preview here.