Having to quickly abandon their humongous space freighter named the Demeter because of someone rerouting the ship onto a disastrous path, five beings now become stranded on a beautiful but dangerous new world. Creatures interact with plants in symbiotic relationships that are mesmerizing, crew members learn to wield new materials in ways that are synonymous with an organic Rube Goldberg machine and most importantly, different types of strange predators roam these lands which both fascinate but terrify.
All of this coming to life through color patterns and artistic complexions that will absolutely mesmerize viewers, co-creatorJoe Bennettand co-executive producerSean Buckelewmet up with MovieWeb recently to discuss the creative endeavors needed to transform the original 2016Scavengersshort into a full-fledged episodic science fiction drama calledScavengers Reign.
Being that the series will revolve around characters who can talk and convey what they’re feeling and thinking (as opposed to silent protagonists in the original), a new layer of storytelling had to be sculpted from the original animation that was released seven years ago. As Bennett puts it,Scavengers Reignwill be a shared event between the audience and those in the show. “These characters are placed on the planet and viewers are experiencing them when they first get there. They’ve been [handling it] for a few months, but it’s still pretty fresh."
The co-creator then provided a tease on how the audience will dive into the psyches of deserted individuals: “They will not only get a grasp on whatever inner turmoil our characters are going through but also see the contrast of what they’re going through with what they’re experiencing on the planet.” These distinctive struggles for each member of the Demeter become emphasized with flashbacks from their personal lives on Earth as well as seeing them hours before the life-altering event.
Delicately Mixing Science Fiction with Realism
Speaking beyondcharacter hardships, both Bennett and Buckelew spoke about the challenge of keeping an endless amount of biological combinations within the frame of a realistic storytelling narrative. According to them, there is no better way to accomplish this than setting the realm of science fiction against all the natural amenities on Earth. Buckelew initially said:
“Even the stuff that may seem the strangest [onScavengers Reign], I feel like there is some kind of background lore, and we attempt to bake that in. For example, something on the planet is the equivalent of a flower that blooms once every ninety-five years. Instead of it being a flower, what if it’s a little creature.”
Bennett then continued that same notion but with an example: “In episode three, Ursula experiences one of these creatures - while the experience is theatrical, we were really struggling with the functionality, what the intention is for this moment. Just knowing and understanding that they need to stay in their own ecosystem, or they’re only able to do this or that helped us to set up not only that scene but also limitations for new ideas later.”
Focusing on the decision to visually emphasize the interdependence between the all the otherworldly creatures and plants, Bennett then talked about why these biological alliances are such an integral part ofScavengers Reign. “I think in a lot of ways it was just trying to emulate what already exists in nature on earth. I would say that there is violence and - there’s sort of a neutrality. There are things that are merciless and violent and then there are things that are beautiful and mutually beneficial. We were trying to not emphasize anything within the context ofgood versus evilbut instead trying to show that there is sort of a functionality for these creatures. . . there are shortcomings and faults, but they’re not necessarily portrayed as villains.”
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An Eerie Theme Song Sets the Mood
Compared to the very tense atmosphere that is consistently clouding our main cast of characters inScavengers Reign, there is a soft and harmonious tune that plays at the beginning of every episode. While Bennett admits that the feeling of this song holds a sense of contrast against what goes on in the show, the origins of the intro hold an interesting story:
“This was actually developed before the show was being made and the composer - his name is Nicolas Snyder - playedthe theme songon a thumb piano. We have been collaborating for years and I believe he had a very good understanding between the marriage of visuals and music. I like the idea of it being very simple but very hypnotic.”
The co-executive producer then opened up Bennett’s statement even further. “We talked about this idea of the sublime, that was a very big and important theme in the show. Dead bodies and pods exploding over a tranquil and nice theme - it’s all sort of serene in its execution.” This type of solemn but striking introduction really helps to pull viewers into this uniquetype of fantastical dystopia.
Another visual disparity that comes out of the soon-to-be released adult animation is its smooth and fluid watercolor display. Even though this unique take remarkably fits well within the adult themes and situations that are present inScavengers Reign, this could be striking for those who weren’t introduced to this style from the short. Bennett explains that “Charles Huettner, who is a co-creator and the art director of the show had a very specific vision for the color” and Buckelew adds to that by providing a distinct anecdote:
In the style guide that Charles drew up - he explicitly said that green and purple cannot be next to each other on the show. There was a picture of the Joker besides that statement!
Talking about the pool of artists that came from all around the world to create the show, both men emphasized adaptation and teamwork as the key. Buckelew stated “We had been influenced by these animators already, they were all such good filmmakers with their own shorts and I think that’s just what we subconsciously responded to.” Bennett then talked about the conclusive effect of this cooperation:
“When the artists really started to understand what the show was and the sensibilities inside of that - there was a really cool learning curve where it really just felt like a beehive mentality. We were all just so aware of what was going on, who the characters were and what the intentions were. We were collectively bouncing off one another.”
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Emotional Strength Plays a Huge Factor
Talking about the more traumatic complexities ofScavengers Reign, grief and loss play a huge part that impacts many, if not all the crew members who cling on to life in one way or the other. When asked about a certain character named Cayman who is manipulated by a brainwashing creature because of his weakened emotional state, both interviewees agreed that this was a situation they talked about a lot behind the scenes. Buckelew made mention that this was not necessarily so much an antagonistic action by the organism but a natural extension of the ecosystem.
Is a lion evil when it kills a gazelle? No, it just hasa type of violenceassociated with it. So, here’s this creature that does this mind control thing - plop a person in that position instead of a squirrel sized animal and the species can now build a knife, create complex traps - it is now highly evolved.
Bennett then connected this arc ofScavengers Reignto acts of sin with a single sentence: “The idea of introducing gluttony and greed into this world was a big part of this human and creature pairing.” Cayman is definitely one of the heavier arcs featured inScavengers Reignthat will pull on heartstrings but also make you red in the face with anger.
Fromthe aesthetic designto the ecosystem based rules all the way to the creation and backstories of the marooned freight members, Bennett talked about his inspirations for the series at large and where he came up with the personalities that are seen in the show. Besides watching many animal documentaries which made him realize that it was nearly impossible to come up with anything that didn’t already exist, he brought up a specific YouTube channel which helped to curate how his own characters would react to the world that was now all around them:
“I’m a huge fan of Primitive Technology. Basically, it’s this guy in New Zealand who will build random things from different cultures in history. He doesn’t skip a step. Even when he’s lighting a fire - you’re seeing it all play out. So, seeing the characters figure out the right utility for the things all around them, that was a big step.”
On the other hand, Buckelew talked about a surprising model for the show that came in the form ofa vampire movie:“28 Days Laterkept coming up a lot - less narratively but more so from the perspective of other people always being the biggest problem. The planet may be savage, but the greatest threat may end up coming from the five others that are there with you.”
