Utopia, the American remake of the darkly comic British cult hit of the same name, hasn’t had a utopian history. Half a decade ago, it was supposed to reunite the Gone Girl team of director David Fincher and writer Gillian Flynn over at HBO, with Rooney Mara to star. After that fell through, Fincher and Mara stepped away, leaving Flynn to shop it around. The project eventually wound up at Amazon, and now there’s a teaser to prove it all worked out.
The British original ran over two series from 2013 through 2014, and it made comic book nerds the heroes, of sorts, when fans of a comic, also called Utopia, realize that the events depicted therein actually predict the future. To make things even crazier, the comic’s hero, Jessica Hyde, mysteriously appears in the real world. Sasha Lane plays Hyde in the remake, which also features Rainn Wilson, Dan Byrd, and John Cusack.
The teaser bowed at this year’s Comic-Con, during a panel in which Flynn reflected on the show’s long journey to the small screen. “Even though I started this project almost seven years ago, trying to get it made, it never felt more resonant than now,” Flynn told the virtual crowd. “We’re all seeking answers, doubting answers, asking questions — not sure up and down — and also that feeling that we are on the edge of something very dark. Wanting to be saved, wanting people to come in and find the answers and do something.”
You can watch the full panel below. Utopia’s premiere date has yet to be announced.
