Our first mission of Friday morning, October 5 at New York Comic Con 2018 was to secure our reserved seats for the Boy Meets World panel that would take place on the Main Stage later that day. Mission accomplished.
After going through Audible’s Harry Potter activation first thing after the convention opened, we didn’t actually have anywhere to be until the Mortal Engines panel started at 12pm. But we were at the Javits Center, while the Mortal Engines panel would be taking place at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden. If you’ve never been to New York Comic Con, not all of their panels take place at the convention center. They also use other offsite venues, including the Hammerstein Ballroom.
After we made the walk from Javits to Madison Square Garden, and figured out where we needed to go to get in line, it was around 11am. There was a small crowd waiting to get in. We had to go through security first, and then were let through to the Hulu Theater.
Inside, an entire upper section was reserved, presumably for those with Press credentials, for which we unfortunately had not qualified for New York Comic Con.
The panel started out with Andy Serkis being introduced as the moderator. He announced that despite previous articles stating that 8 minutes of the movie would be shown, that was no longer the case. After running back and forth to backstage a couple of times, increasing the amount of time each time, Serkis finally confirmed that we would be watching the first 25 minutes of Mortal Engines!
Admittedly, I had been a little on the fence about this movie, from the previews I had seen thus far. When I heard that 8 minutes of the movie would be shown at NYCC, I thought it would be a good chance to check it out and see a little bit more of what it’s all about. Well, after watching the first 25 minutes, I will tell you that I am very excited about this movie! The visuals look incredible, and the storyline drew me in pretty quickly. Of course, they left off with a cliffhanger, and I must know what happens next!
After the screening, Andy Serkis returned to the stage and introduced the panelists, which included cast members Stephen Lang (Shrike), Jihae (Anna Fang), Leila George (Katherine Valentine), Robert Sheehan (Tom Natsworthy), Hera Hilman (Hester Shaw), Director Christian Rivers, Executive Producer and Writer Philippa Boyens, and Producer and Writer Peter Jackson.
Director Christian Rivers told us that Mortal Engines is based on a novel by Philip Reeve, which is the first in a series of four books. He described the movie as being about Hera Hilman’s character, Hester Shaw, who is a “fierce outcast” driven to get vengeance for her mother by taking out Valentine. While doing so, she and Tom Natsworthy meet and go on great adventures together. Eventually, it is revealed that she has the key to stopping London, which is becoming an unstoppable force that is going to destroy the world. Rivers went on to say that they had wanted to make a new story, a new world, and a new experience for cinema lovers.
Peter Jackson had read the novels in 2006-2007, at which time they optioned all four of the books. They started working on the scripts, but then The Hobbit films came along and Mortal Engines got shelved. But then the rights started to run out, so they got back to work on Mortal Engines.
Philippa Boyens explained that “Mortal Engines” means that the cities are huge engines, but they are teeming with life. She said that Christian Rivers wanted to make sure the audience could see the “predatory nature” of the cities with the use of lions. Additionally, the title refers to the predator-prey life cycle, and the fact that it is possible for these huge cities to fall and for the smaller cities to feed on their carcasses. Lastly, she teased that it also could be interpreted to refer to Stephen Lang’s character, Shrike, whom the audience is apparently unsure whether he’s human or machine, mortal or immortal.
Indeed, Stephen Lang elaborated about just who Shrike is. He explained that he was initially a man named Kit who had died several years before, but his body had been hollowed out and filled in with the technology of the time, resurrecting him. He is what is called a “Stalker” — which are made to be killers, so he became a bounty hunter. Most of his memories are gone, but from time to time he gets a flash of a little girl. At one point, he finds Hester as a little girl, then raises her in his own way. Lang explained that he based Shrike’s movements upon Rudolph Nureyev’s performance in the Swan Lake ballet, among other things.
The other cast members spoke about their respective characters as well. Hera Hilman described her character, Hester Shaw, as multidimensional, flawed, and crazy, but beautiful, and it was a “dream” for her to be able to play such a heroine. Robert Sheehan said that his character, Tom Natsworthy, is an apprentice historian at the London Museum who has had a bit of a sheltered upbringing. For him, Tom was a “beacon of light, positivity.” Leila George said that Katherine Valentine, the daughter of Thaddeus Valentine, London’s Chief Archaeologist, has been brought up to respect class and social standing. However, she has a big heart, and we catch her at a time in her life when she discovers what the real world is. George also spoke of Katherine’s journey of going from a girl to a strong woman. Jihae (who we had seen just the day before at National Geographic’s Mars Season 2 panel) pointed out that her character, Anna Fang, is symbolic of resistance. Anna’s main mission is to protect the only natural haven left on Earth, as well as prevent London from unleashing the next cataclysmic event. Jihae said that Anna is a “fierce environmental activist” who will do what it takes to protect nature and her settlement.
The movie is set about 3,000 years from now, a setting which Peter Jackson described as “post-post-apocalyptic.” Eventually, after society wiped itself out as a result of the “60 Minute War,” which triggered a series of disasters which reshaped the world, cities rise from the rubble and end up chasing each other around. There are no countries or borders anymore. London is not the biggest city, but they did want to make it a “fully functioning society” rather than a dystopia. However, by the time the movie begins, the “prey” — or smaller cities — which the larger cities feed upon in order to fuel their engines are becoming scarce.
Jackson hopes that enough people come to see Mortal Engines so that they will be allowed to continue on to the next book in the series.
The panel ended with a world premiere screening of the newest trailer, and a video message from Hugo Weaving, who plays Thaddeus Valentine, and was unable to make it to the panel.
Mortal Engines will be released in theaters on Friday, December 14, 2018.
Stay tuned for more of our NYCC 2018 panel recaps and photos!
You can view more of our photos of the Mortal Engines panel at New York Comic Con 2018 below.
I need to catch this movie while I have the chance.