Dystopian: Last News

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Prime Video is diving into genre in the Nordics with a new slate of shows, including the Swedish mystery crime series “Blind Spot” starring Ida Engvoll (“Love & Anarchy”) and Pål Sverre Hagen (“Furia”), and Henrik Georgsson (“The Bridge“)’s dystopian thriller “VAKA,” starring Emmy-award nominated Jonas Karlsson and Aliette Opheim. Based on Anne Holt’s best-selling novel “1222” which revolves around the character of Hanne Wilhelmsen, a sharp and dark-minded police officer. The series, penned by celebrated author Sara Heldt (“Sandhamn Murders”) together with Erik Skjoldberg (“Occupied”), follows Hanne who finds herself sheltered in an isolated mountain hotel after a train crash and starts investigating on mysterious murders even though she’s been temporarily suspended from the police.

EXCLUSIVE: Walking Dead maker Skybound Entertainment has struck what it is calling a “first-of-its-kind” deal with Prime Video over a dystopian thriller series from Scandinavia.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer A new independent gaming studio led by vets of “Doom” developer id Software has launched with initial seed funding from Sisu Game Ventures. Named emptyvessel, the gaming studio will focus on developing AAA video games.

Not many actors-turned-filmmakers will swing for the fences in such a big way with their directorial debuts as Daniel Kaluuya has done with “The Kitchen.” Instead of making some small indie drama, Kaluuya, alongside co-director Kibwe Tavares, decided to go with a full dystopian sci-fi drama. But you better believe this is a film filled with a ton of heart at its core.

Oscar-winning actor-turned-filmmaker Daniel Kaluuya’s directorial debut, “The Kitchen,” is a slightly unusual, oddly shaped movie at times. And/or, another way to look at it is, depending on your point of view, Daniel Kaluuya’s filmmaking debut (co-directed with Kibwe Tavares, who also makes his feature-length debut) may defy your expectations, and it has much more on its mind than you might presume.

EXCLUSIVE: Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi (Entergalactic) will star in and produce the new animated feature Slime which will serve as animator Jeron Braxton‘s (Baby Demon) feature directorial debut. Brian Ash (The Boondocks) penned the script and will executive produce.

Dystopian novel Prophet Song, by Irish author Paul Lynch, has won the 2023 Booker Prize.

Alison Herman TV Critic From the moment Reed Hastings tuned into an earnings call wearing a green-and-white tracksuit, it was clear Netflix may have learned the wrong lessons from the success of “Squid Game.” In 2021, the South Korean drama — created, written and directed by auteur Hwang Dong-hyuk — became a surprise global sensation with a grim and violent allegory of capitalism exploiting the desperate many for the enjoyment of a wealthy few. Hastings, a rich and powerful tech founder, was closer to one of the titular game’s masked spectators than a contestant risking their life for a chance at the prize, though he didn’t seem to see the irony.

Hunter Ingram Before production got underway on Apple TV+’s “Silo” in 2021, creator Graham Yost’s inbox was a constant barrage of questions. “I would get 50 emails a day from production design and set dec and costuming with questions about the logic of what would be in a silo,” the creator tells Variety. Who can blame them? The challenge put upon the production top to bottom was a heavy lift.

Keira Knightley‘s next role has been revealed!

EXCLUSIVE: Oscar nominee Keira Knightley is set to star in dystopian sci-fi thriller Conception, in which the British government has taken control over parenting.

Naman Ramachandran The touring production of “The Merchant of Venice 1936″ has been targeted by antisemites, its star revealed. Tracy-Ann Oberman, who has starred in “Doctor Who” and “Friday Night Dinner,” says the tour of the Shakespearean play has been forced to hire security guards in the wake of a surge of antisemitism prompted by the war between Hamas and Israel. “We’re on a 10-week tour and I’ve been moved beyond words at the reactions of audiences and critics.

Ben Croll Hitman dramedy “Knok,” pandemic-thriller “LT-21,” and dystopian sendup “Rictus” will head off Have A Good One’s (HAGO) Mipcom slate, as the Paris-based TV development and sales company has boarded two additional series currently in production. Produced by Mifa Pictures (Groupe StoryPlus) and N22 Productions for 13ème Rue France, and created by Guillaume Duhesme, Bastien Ughetto and Lucie Moreau, the off-kilter “Knok” follows a hapless single-dad inducted into the underworld and made an unwilling contract-killer after accidentally witnessing a hit.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic “Foe” is a grandly muddled dystopian sci-fi movie starring Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal as a Midwestern farm couple in 2065 (they appear to be the only Midwestern farm couple left). When you hear the film’s premise, which makes it sound like a cross between “Interstellar” and “Blade Runner,” you may think it’s going to be one of those movies in which a pair of critical darlings from the indie world leave their low-budget poetic movies behind to plug themselves into the blockbuster machine.

Naman Ramachandran A first trailer has been unveiled for Indonesian filmmaker Yosep Anggi Noen’s “24 Hours With Gaspar.” The film will world premiere at the Busan Film Festival where it is in the prestigious Jiseok competition. Set in 2032 and based on the novel of the same name by Indonesian author Sabda Armandio, the film follows Gaspar, a private detective with 24 hours to live, who finds clues about the mysterious disappearance of Kirana, his childhood friend.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent One of the most buzzed-about international movies of the fall festival circuit, Bertrand Bonello’s “The Beast,” has already lured several distributors ahead of its world premiere in competition at Venice. Represented by Kinology, the dystopian romance is headlined by Léa Seydoux (“Crimes of the Future”) and George MacKay (“1917”) as star-crossed lovers.

A new photo has been unveiled from “Foe”, the upcoming dystopian drama from director Garth Davis, based on Iain Reid’s novel of the same name.

Empire State Bastard have shared a dystopian video for their recent single ‘The Looming’ – check it out below.The side-project of Biffy Clyro frontman Simon Neil, and their touring guitarist Mike Vennart (Oceansize) will release debut album ‘Rivers Of Heresy’ on September 1 (pre-order/pre-save here).‘The Looming’ was shared last month as a follow-up to the singles ‘Harvest’ and ‘Stutter’, and its video continues the dystopian themes of the track.Of the video, the band said: “ESB x Mike Bourne. The end is looming!”Watch the video below.Speaking to NME earlier this year, Neil said that ESB were “going for extremity at all costs” while embarking on what he described as a “hideously horrific musical journey”.“Because we play together in Biffy, there’s no point in us doing another project that doesn’t feel miles apart,” he explained.

Dennis Harvey Film Critic Five years ago seems aeons in an era so disrupted by COVID. So it comes as a surprise to realize that the original screen “Bird Box” arrived a full 14 months or so in advance of pandemic restrictions — becoming an early Netflix pop-culture phenomenon before lockdown made that sort of thing a regular occurrence. Susanne Bier’s film of Josh Malerman’s sci-fi horror novel was intriguing and suspenseful enough, even if its emphasis on psychological drama over thrills made for a somewhat unlikely breakout hit.  Inevitably, if belatedly, there’s now a follow-up — but not an adaptation of Malerman’s own print sequel, which continued the travails of the character played by Sandra Bullock. Instead, “Bird Box Barcelona” is a “parallel story” set on another continent entirely. Written and directed by Alex and David Pastor, whose prior genre efforts “The Last Days” (2013) and “Carriers” (2009) both had similar basic premises, it finds a different cross-section of humanity imperiled by unseen but presumed space aliens. When glimpsed, they induce immediate, overwhelming suicidal urges — or, in a chosen few, mind-controlled subservience that drives them to lead unsuspecting others to their doom.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Chile’s Clara Films and Barcelona-based VFX studio Unbound Hub have forged a strategic development pact for the upcoming dystopian TV series, “Numana.” Created by Argentine writers Jesica Arán (“Pájaros Negros”) and Soledad Velasco (Disney+’s “Dreaming High”), the project participated at  Conecta Fiction’s High End Pitch session. “We are thrilled to partner with Unbound Hub in the development of ‘Numana,’” said producer Clara Larrain of Clara Films.  “Nowadays, investors fear unpredictable budgets that a series like this can mean, so having Unbound Hub on board this early will be instrumental not only in bringing our dystopian vision to life, but in reducing risk.”

Zara Larsson has shared her second new single of the year – check out ‘End Of Time’ below.Described as “part symphonic power-ballad, part dystopian dance-banger” ‘End Of Time’ was inspired by ‘Loud’-era Rihanna and ABBA. Larsson’s latest track was written and produced alongside chief collaborators Rick Nowels and Danja.“I have been working on this song for a long time and as soon as it was finished, we all knew that it was really special,” Larsson said in a press release.“When it came to making the video I collaborated with The Baker Twins on a story that is very personal to me.