John Cusack Faces The End of the World in Gillian Flynn’s ‘Utopia’: Watch The Teaser

After telling a girl to leave and playing with pointy things, best-selling author Gillian Flynn is tackling her first solo TV series with Amazon Prime Video’s Utopia, as teased at today’s Comic-Con@Home panel. Starring a who’s-who of actors ranging from John Cusack to Rainn Wilson, the series is a weird, sci-fi twist on a comic book apocalypse… Mostly because said apocalypse is coming straight out of the pages of a comic book.

Unlike Marvel movies, though, this is an original series that only exists in the world of Utopia. Centering on a bunch of comic book fans who are obsessed with the titular book, they begin to realize that in the pages of the book are predictions about upcoming threats to humanity. And it’s not fiction, either: they’re very, very real, and happening right now. The comic fans — Ian (Dan Byrd), Becky (Ashleigh LaThrop), Samantha (Jessica Rothe), Wilson Wilson (Desmin Borges) and Grant (Javon “Wanna” Walton) — team up with the comic’s central character, Jessica Hyde (Sasha Lane) in order to stop the oncoming apocalypse and save the world. The series also stars John Cusack as Dr. Kevin Christie, Rainn Wilson as Dr. Michael Stearns, Farrah Mackenzie as Alice, Christopher Denham as Arby, and Cory Michael Smith as Thomas Christie.

As you can see from the teaser above, the plot description, and the first look pictures below, this seems to be a departure for Flynn, who is best known for her harrowing, realistic scenarios in Gone GirlSharp Objects, and her screenplay for Widows (as well as her other books). However, as Flynn noted herself in a tweet, it took her seven years to get the series made, which times to about right after the release of “Gone Girl” in novel form. Flynn is also a veteran comic book fan, and even collaborated on a short story with famed “Watchmen” artist Dave Gibbons, for Dark Horse Comics back in 2015. Geek card: approved!

Perhaps more interestingly, Utopia is based on the UK series of the same name, which aired on Channel 4 for two series from 2013-2014. Written by Dennis Kelly, the series ran for 12 episodes before being canceled. While the show was critically acclaimed in the UK, it also drew complaints for excessive violence, as well as children being thrown into adult situations; neither of which seem like they should be a problem for American audiences. Unfortunately.

Alongside Gillian Flynn, executive producers include Jessica Rhoades (with whom Flynn collaborated on Sharp Objects), Sharon Levy, Sharon Hall, Karen Wilson, and Dennis Kelly. The series is a co-production between Endemol Shine North America and Kudos, an Endemol Shine Group UK production studio, and Amazon Studios. Sharon Levy, President, Unscripted & Scripted Television, Endemol Shine North America, oversees production for Endemol Shine. Utopia will be available exclusively on Prime Video in more than 200 countries and territories.

The series will debut this Fall, and you can check out key art and some first look pictures, below:

utopia on amazon prime video
Photo: Amazon
utopia on amazon prime video
Photo: Elizabeth Morris/Amazon Studios
utopia on amazon prime video
Photo: Elizabeth Morris/Amazon Studios