A thousand years in the making! Today we have the first trailer for the epic new sagaMortal Engines, which comes from the team behindThe Lord of the RingsandThe Hobbit. Peter Jackson is the mastermind behind this apocalyptic view of the future. And the first footage is jaw-dropping.
Thousands of years after civilization was destroyed by acataclysmic 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.
Mortal Engines is the startling, new epic adventure directed by Oscar-winning visual-effects artist Christian Rivers (King Kong). Joining Rivers areThe HobbitandThe Lord of the Rings trilogiesthree-timeAcademy Award-winning filmmakers Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, who have penned the screenplay. The Universal and MRC adaptation is from the award-winning book series by Philip Reeve, published in 2001 by Scholastic.
On board as producers are Zane Weiner (The Hobbittrilogy), Amanda Walker (The Hobbit trilogy) and Deborah Forte (Goosebumps), as well as Walsh and Jackson. Ken Kamins (The Hobbittrilogy) joins Boyens as executive producer. Universal will distribute the film worldwide.
Mortal Enginesis described as a 3D epic adventure.The ensemble castincludes Hugo Weaving, Hera Hilmar, Robert Sheehan, Jihae, Ronan Raftery, Leila George, Patrick Malahide and Stephen Lang. Directed by Christian Rivers and Written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, this stands to be one of 2018’s more exciting releases.
Christian Rivers started his career as a digital artist for Peter Jackson’s Weta Digital, working on the 1997 sci-fi filmContact. He moved on to work with Peter Jackson on his sprawling fantasy adaptation ofThe Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ringas a visual effects art director, along withThe Lord of the Rings: The Two Towersas a pre-visualization supervisor andThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the Kingas a visual effects conceptual designer. He also worked as an animation director on Peter Jackson’sKing Kong, a visual effects supervisor onThe Lovely Bonesand a previsualization supervisor onThe Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. He was then promoted as a splinter unit director onThe Hobbit: The Desolation of SmaugandThe Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, while also serving as a second unit director on last year’sPete’s Dragon. Hugo Weaving most recently starred inHacksaw Ridge, and he will next be seen in Jasper Jones.
You an check out the first amazing footage fromMortal Enginesright here, right now. The trailer arrives courtesy ofUniversal Pictures. And it hits theaters August 23, 2025.
