Posted in: Apple, TV | Tagged: apple tv, jon favreau, Prehistoric Planet

Jon Favreau Says He'd Play King Henry VIII In A Prehistoric Coronation

This month sees Prehistoric Planet 2 coming to Apple TV+, an episode of releasing every night for five days from May the 22nd onwards.

This month sees the return of Prehistoric Planet on Apple TV+, an episode of Prehistoric Planet 2 released every night for five days from May the 22nd onwards. A time-travelling documentary, I got the chance to see scenes from across the second season today in a swanky Soho studio, and currently writing this from the Sky Bar on Wardour Street, , looking out across London. But my mind's eye is full of the soaring dinosaurs I have just seen, including a most impressive courting scene between two giant avian creatures, who look impossible to even exist on this planet, even 66 million years ago.

The show is exceptional in creating natural life scenes that your brain refuses to believe aren't real, and I found I had to keep reminding myself what was real and what was not, before surrendering to the illusion. Apparently, the visual effects crew were there to learn from the BBC Natural History Unit, and the naturists learned from the effects folk, in a mutual spirit of education to create something compelling and convincing, despite being impossible. After the screening, I was able to find out why, the use of long lenses,m only placing cameras where they would have been able to put camera traps, and the use of Sir David Attenborough to use the language of the nature documentary to reveal these extraordinary creatures and their very anthropomorphized moments. Even the sound channel has jumped a notch between seasons, but creating richer, fuller, multilayered soundtrack of animal noises, so even if you can't see all the animals, you and hear that they are there and you are absorbed even more into this reality.

It's a good trick, this morning I saw Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 3 at the BFI IMAX, the biggest screen in the country, and was thoroughly entertained, especially by the long one-take panning scenes, with the camera looping around the Guardians in mid-fight. But at no point did I ever think it was real. By pulling back, by reducing what they actually can do on the screen, Prehistoric Planet 2 is much more convincing.

But looking out across London as I am now, I did have one question to ask of Iron Man and The Mandalorian's Jon Favreau,  who is producing this series. Given his return to a show about prehistoric, majestic creatures that the world remains fascinated by, if he had any thoughts about our own similar event this weekend, the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla? And how he would approach recreating such majestic beasts? He told me that he had in mind a series set across two thousand years, recreating royalty just as they have done in Prehistoric Planet, but insists that he would have to play King Henry The Eighth.

You can see the resemblance, can't you? As for Attenborough, he is a world expert on Ammonites, so apparently everyone had to be on their best Ammonite form on the show. They come up a lot, it seems. And this included Favreau who loves Ammonites more than anyone. Apart from Sir David, maybe. Prehistoric Planet 2 will air from the 22nd of May on Applr+ TV, five episodes, a new one each day for an Apple+ "Dinosaur Week",  and the first season can be streamed right now. Here's a trailer for the new season.

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