Filmmaker Of Distinction To Take On De-Extinction: Oscar Winner James Reed Boards Docuseries On Company Bringing Back Wooly Mammoth, Dodo And More

deadline.com:

Colossal Biosciences, the company bringing wooly mammoths and other extinct species back to life, and production partner Teton Ridge Entertainment are teaming with acclaimed filmmaker James Reed on a multiyear docuseries.

Reed – the Oscar-winning director of My Octopus Teacher – and producing partner Matt Houghton will executive produce the de-extinction series through Reed’s Underdog Films banner.

Jillian Share for Teton Ridge Entertainment and Michael Dougherty are also on board as executive producers. Filmmaker Sophie Todd (Formula 1 – Drive To Survive) has joined the project as showrunner. “The series will have exclusive access to follow Colossal as it works to bring back iconic extinct species – including the woolly mammoth, the thylacine [a carnivorous marsupial once native to Australia] and dodo bird – and strives to rewild them into their natural habitats,” notes a release. “It will have behind the scenes access to Colossal’s whole process – from their groundbreaking work on ancient DNA and genetic engineering to documenting the lives of animals which have not roamed the earth in thousands of years.” The release adds, “In addition to the de-extinction projects, the series will reveal the company’s cutting edge conservation technologies that focus on protecting existing endangered species including working to cure EEHV in elephants, engineering in genetic diversity to save the Northern white rhinos, and leveraging artificial intelligence to better understand animal behavior and rewilding impacts.” Colossal Biosciences, based in Austin, TX, describes itself as “the world’s first and only de-extinction company,” adding that it is “closer to restoring the past, preserving the present and safeguarding the future