Posted in: Amazon Studios, Preview, streaming, Trailer, TV, YouTube | Tagged: amazon, Amazon Prime, Ashleigh LaThrop, becky, dr. kevin christie, drama, fantasy, gillian flynn, gone girl, john cusack, prime video, Supernatural, thriller, utopia
Utopia: Gillian Flynn's Amazon Series Has Us Questioning Everything
Gone Girl author-screenwriter Gillian Flynn's upcoming Amazon Studios adaptation of British series Utopia made quite an impression at Comic-Con@Home, and with the series set to premiere some time in Fall 2020, it doesn't appear as if the streaming service is going to let up on the gas when it comes to promoting the project now that the official teaser was released (see below). What you'll find below are four teasers that are just oozing with clues: while two of the clips introduce us to John Cusack's (High Fidelity, Grosse Pointe Blank) Dr. Kevin Christie and Ashleigh LaThrop's (Fifty Shades Freed) Becky, all four do an amazing job making our skin feel like it started crawling a little.
Utopia follows a group of young adults who meet online that are mercilessly hunted by a shadowy deep state organization after they come into possession of a near-mythical cult underground graphic novel. Within the comic's pages, they discover the conspiracy theories that may actually be real and are forced into the dangerous, unique, and ironic position of saving the world. Joining Cusack and LaThrop are Rainn Wilson (The Office), Sasha Lane (American Honey), Javon "Wanna" Walton (Euphoria), Jessica Rothe (Happy Death Day 2U), Ashleigh LaThrop (Fifty Shades Freed), Dan Byrd (Cougar Town), Desmin Borges (You're The Worst), Farrah Mackenzie (Ascension), Christopher Denham (Billions), Felisha Terrell (Shooter), and Dustin Ingram (Watchmen).
"The man you see the most, you know the least…"
"The harvest will provide your purpose."
"Follow the light, find the truth."
"This is only how it begins…"
Cusack's Dr. Kevin Christie is a charismatic, media-savvy, and brilliant biotech mind who wants to change the world through science. Wilson's Michael Stearns was once a promising virologist, now a forgotten scientist who's lost his edge—under-appreciated and underfunded in his laboratory work. When a nationwide outbreak of a deadly flu arises, Michael offers his expertise, and soon finds he has landed smack in the middle of something much bigger. Lane's Jessica Hyde: tough and feral after a life on the run from a mysterious and dangerous group, Jessica believes all the answers about her perplexing life story may be hidden in the graphic novel Utopia. Walton's Grant is streetwise beyond his years, independent, fearless, crafty, and charming. Raised in the Kansas City projects by an alcoholic single mother, he's now roaming the streets alone.
Grant embarks on a dangerous mission to uncover the secrets from Utopia. Rothe's Samantha is extremely idealistic, sharp-witted, and a natural-born leader. She earnestly believes in changing the world through action and scoffs at cheap rhetoric about progress. She could school any comic book nerd about the graphic novel Utopia and is embarking on a mission to uncover its secrets. Terrell's Hailey Alvez is a sharp, rising star in journalism with a friendly air and affable manner. She interviews pharmaceutical giant Kevin Christie about his groundbreaking new product and asks some serious, pointed questions. Ingram's Tallman is extremely wealthy and eerily eccentric. A collector of priceless comic books, Tallman will go to great lengths to get his hands on the mysterious graphic novel, Utopia.
LaThrop's Becky is bright and big-hearted, using her kindness and empathy as a way to get closer to the graphic novel she desperately needs to save her life. Borges' Wilson Wilson is a brilliant, paranoid, and eccentric conspiracy theorist who is obsessed with Utopia and convinced that it hides more dark secrets about the very future of our world. Mackenzie's Alice is an adopted foster child who is bright and curious, with a steely resolve when challenged and thrown into the dangerous world of our Nerds. Denham's Arby is a shark-like menace who's emotionally stunted and socially disconnected but whose cold facade starts crumbling as he learns some dangerous truths about his childhood.
Created by Dennis Kelly and produced by Endemol Shine Group's UK production studio Kudos, the original Utopia premiered on Channel 4 and aired for two seasons. Lead character Jessica Hyde was portrayed by Fiona O'Shaughnessy (Striking Out, My Mother and Other Strangers) Utopia is a co-production between Endemol Shine North America/Kudos and Amazon Studios. Flynn, Kelly, Jessica Rhoades, Kudos' Karen Wilson, and Diederick Santer, and Sharon Hall will executive produce. President of Unscripted & Scripted Television for Endemol Shine North America Sharon Levy will oversee production.