Peter Jackson has been out of action since his last foray to Middle-earth with The Hobbit trilogy, but it seems he’s now ready for a return, with the filmmaker announcing on Facebook that he’s set to write and produce an adaptation of Philip Reeve’s Mortal Engines, which is being directed by his protege Christian Rivers. Here’s Jackson’s full statement from Facebook…
Hi Folks,
It’s been a quiet few months, but I’m very happy to tell you that our next project is now underway.
WingNut Films be producing a feature film based on Philip Reeve’s book Mortal Engines, to be directed by Christian Rivers. The script has been written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and myself.
Some of you may recall that Christian was going to direct the Dambusters a few years back. Since then he’s kept himself busy, making short films, and directing Second Units on The Hobbit and Pete’s Dragon.
Our involvement in Mortal Engines actually pre-dates Dambusters (which is still happening) – Christian actually worked on Mortal Engines previs way back in 2009. It’s very exciting to finally get it underway!
We’ve had the rights to Philip’s book series for several years, but have had to wait for the right time to make it.
If you haven’t read the books, you should. They present a stunning look into the future, when all of Earth’s major cities are now mounted on wheels, roaming across the landscape as massive “Traction Cities”. Our society has build itself on the principals of Municipal Darwinism – this basically involves the bigger cities hunting down, and consuming, the smaller ones. And that’s only the backdrop to an original and emotional personal story.
Philip Reeve has created a range of intriguing characters, following their adventures in our strange future world through four books – “Mortal Engines”, “Predator’s Gold”, “Infernal Devices” and “A Darkling Plain”.
The moment we read these novels, we knew what exciting movies they’d make. I literally can’t wait to see them!
The movie will be financed by MRC and Universal, and shooting will get underway next March, in New Zealand. Producers Zane Weiner and Amanda Walker, who both worked on the Hobbit, will be spearheading the NZ based team, along with Deborah Forte in the US.
No casting to announce yet, but Weta Workshop and Weta Digital are both onboard.
With the wheels now rolling on Mortal Engines, I’ll bring you a lot of news and sneak peeks at what we’re doing over the coming months.
Cheers,
Peter J
Mortal Engines will mark the feature directorial debut of Christian Rivers, who has been a longtime collaborator of Jackson, having storyboarded all of his films since Braindead, as well as performing a variety of roles on his subsequent movies including visual effects supervisor and second unit director. He also recently worked as second unit director on Disney’s Pete’s Dragon.
First published in 2001, Mortal Engines now spans a quartet of novels and takes place in a post-apocalyptic, steampunk version of London, which is now a giant machine (or Traction City) striving to survive in a world where resources are in short supply.
Originally published October 25, 2016. Updated April 15, 2018.
