We’ve known that Peter Jackson’s next epic tale was set to be ‘Mortal Engines‘ and now have just learned that the film will be released in 2018! Specifically, December 14th, 2018. Universal Pictures doesn’t have much competition that week though the week after Fox has an untitled James Cameron scheduled to be released which, unless a film has been being worked on in secret, will likely be ‘Avatar 2.’ Still, with the blockbuster juggernauts of both the ‘Lord of the Rings’ and ‘The Hobbit’ trilogies under his belt it should come as no surprise that Universal Pictures feels that this won’t just do good during the Christmas season but probably isn’t worried about any film short of a Marvel, DC, or Star Wars movie in terms of taking a bite out of its box office numbers.
The script was penned by Jackson as well as his wife Fran Walsh with Philippa Boyens. While Jackson won’t be directing this one, his protege Christian Rivers will be making his directorial debut. While Jackson isn’t going to be behind the camera this time around it clearly sounds as if his presence will be felt in the film past just writing.
The novel that the film was based on was released by Philip Reeve and Scholastic in 2001 and kicked off a four-part story. With Jackson’s penchant to be involved in trilogies, it will be interesting to see if this film is set to be released as a stand-alone or kick off an entirely new cinematic series. It is set in a future steampunk version of London where the world’s ecosystem has been ruined and resources are scarce. This version of London is now mobile as are some other major cities which travel around and take resources from those who can’t protect themselves. The story has us following Tom Natsworthy who makes a discovery that has the potential to change the world.
Are you looking forward to checking out ‘Mortal Engines’ when it is released? Do you think we’ll be getting a stand alone film, a 4 part movie, or something even longer? Share your thoughts below!
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Stuart Conover is an author, blogger, and all around geek. When not busy being a father and husband he tries to spend as much time as possible immersed in comic books, science fiction, and horror! Would you like to know more? Follow him on Twitter!
