How different is Amazon'sUtopia remake compared to the original, based on the footage seen so far?The epicUtopia story began in 2013, with Dennis Kelly's vision making an instant impact on UK TV.Utopia courted controversy due to its brutal, unflinching violence, but also attracted acclaim for its direction, story, characters and music. A dense, winding conspiracy story,Utopia wasn't necessarily a ratings smash, and was cancelled after two seasons, much to the ire of fans. The original series wasn't afforded a proper ending, andUtopia's cult following has passionately campaigned for a third season or movie ever since, but to no avail.
Despite being off-screen since 2014,Utopia's sterling reputation as an underground hit has remained intact, leading to Amazon's announcement of a U.S. remake in 2018. A reinterpretationofUtopia had been in the works previouslywith David Fincher, but it took the might of Amazon to get things movingand with Gillian Flynn as showrunner,the newUtopia will arrive in September 2020. The main cast includes Sasha Lane, Rainn Wilson, Cory Michael Smith, John Cusack, Dan Byrd, Desmin Borges andAshleigh LaThrop.
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As with any UK-to-US television remake, changes to the source material are inevitable, and the recent trailer highlights just how much Amazon's series will be forging its own path. The general basis ofUtopia remains intact - a global conspiracy woven around a little-known, esoteric comic book, the titularUtopia. As a group of fans uncover the secrets behind the comic, they find themselves hunted down by a powerful, shadowy organization whose methods are less than gentle. Here are all the differences between the originalUtopia and Amazon's remake so far.
As mentioned above, the original UKUtopiaruffled feathers with its grizzly approach to violence. Select highlights include a man's eye being removed with a spoon and an assassin shooting a classroom of schoolchildren, and it's no surprise that the latter attractedsignificant media attention, especiallyairing weeks after the Sandy Hook massacre. Arguably, this controversy overshadowedUtopia's first season, causing mainstream outlets to associate the series more with gratuitous violence than the unique visuals or compelling narrative. However, the violent scenes did serve a purpose, spelling out the threatposed by the villainous Network in no uncertain terms and underpinning the story with a true sense of dread. The timing might've been appalling, and the sequences themselves were intentionally uncomfortable, butUtopia actually wasn't as bloody as its reputation suggests, using choice examples of intense, extreme violence, as opposed to a constant stream of gore.
It's clear from the newUtopia trailer that Amazon's series isn't going to be anywhere near as confrontational or challenging in its use of violence. As a general rule, trailers will tend to omitany gritty and mature moments, but this isn't the case withUtopia. Gillian Flynn has openly confirmed that the U.S. version won't be as brutal as its British counterpart.
Utopia's enduring legacy can be partly attributed to thecinematic visuals,utterly unlikeanything else on the small screen. Mixing together open, gorgeous urban and rural landscapes with striking, vivid colors,Utopia's wide shots quickly became legendary, while the juxtaposition between thepeacefullocales and the murky conspiracy bubbling underneath created a quirky contrast.Utopia's photography will be used in case studies for years to come, and the remake was always facing an uphill battle to replicate that.
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Amazon'sUtopia trailer does contain several visual homages and parallels to the original. The bright yellow bag and recurring color palette are retained, and attempts are made to mirror the trademark landscape shots of theUK series. Inevitably, however, there's a certain quality missing. Where 2013'sUtopia was artfully framed, the cinematography in Amazon's series looks like any other show. The trailer stillbrings some fantastic looking scenes to the table, but where a trailer would usually seek to highlight the most impressive visuals a series has to offer, there's a clear difference compared to the old series.
Where is Jessica Hyde? Right there in trailer, around 15 seconds in. The line "where is Jessica Hyde?" became a calling card forboth Utopia fans and its characters - a memorable catchphrase that neatly sums upUtopia'skeen mystery and offbeat humor. The line was also utilized heavily in marketing,sinceJessica Hyde's enigmatic whereabouts are a key plot point in the original story. Jessica Hyde appears at the end of the first episode, but until that point, her presence and role is kept secret. By contrast, Amazon'sUtopia trailer doesn't use the Jessica Hyde name, and explicitly shows the character aiding the protagonists on their journey.
Perhaps the newUtopia is assuming viewers will already be familiar with the cast before tuning in, meaning any attempt to obscure Jessica Hyde would be useless. Or maybe Amazon are simply looking for fresh marketing tricks that aren't already associated with the original series. Nevertheless, it's strange that themain taglineof the UK'sUtopia doesn't even get a reference in the new trailer, and also unusual that the footage would give away Jessica Hyde so easily.
Dennis Kelly'sUtopia was dark, there's no argument to be had over that. The series was comedic, butstrictly in the mold of a black comedy, where laughs were borne from tragedy or deeply inappropriate situations, like a young child swearing, or a stranger cheerfully telling a young mother that her choice to become a parentis destroying the environment. There are no such dark jokes in the Amazon trailer, which instead showcases a much lighter tone in general. Dan Byrd's character enjoys some goofy lines, Rainn Wilson makes a joke about evil, and the whole ensemble is ironically accompanied by REM's "It's The End Of The World As We Know It."
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Similar to howthe violence has been toned down and the visuals feel more familiar,Utopia's humor is more mainstream in the remake. Like an adventure thriller peppered with a handful of wry gags. It's possible that this is merely the trailer's doing; it's not unusual for promo footage to strike a moreaccessible chord compared to the finished product, after all. Either way,Utopia's less intense approach will help Amazon's series stand out from its predecessor, but fans of the UK series could miss that lack of darker comedy.
In the originalUtopia, The Network conspire to release Russian flu upon the world's population as part of a deeper, more sinister conspiracy against mankind. As seen in the trailer, however, the US version has reworked this storyline, replacing Russian flu with Stearns flu, named after Rainn Wilson's character, Michael Stearns. A scientist by trade, Stearnsworks on the virus without knowing how his pathogen will be misused by the story's villains. After unwittingly creating a worldwide pandemic, Stearns teams up with the Utopia comic conspiracy gang to help put things right.
This is a complete rewrite of Kelly's story. While the British group of protagonists do eventually ally with a scientist who was dragged into The Network's plot against his will, he's nothing like Stearns, and wasn't responsible for creating the flu strain being spread across the world. Having Stearnsjoin Jessica, Ian and Becky's group could potentially grease the wheels of story progression. The heroes of the original story had to piece everything together for themselves, with no expert knowledge of their own to call upon. Having the man who created his own version of flu on their side could create a pacier tempo inUtopia's first season on Amazon.
Utopia didn't originally have a single overarching villain throughout its two-season run.Villain duties inseason 1 were shared by The Network as an organization and the two assassins sent to track down Jessica Hyde, but a bigger enemy emerged in time for season 2. AlthoughUtopia season 3 never happened, an entirely different antagonist was set up. The real villain ofUtopia was never a single figure, but an idea that differentpeople would adopt over the course of the series. Judging from Amazon's trailer, however, John Cusack's Dr. Christie will give theUtopia remake its central face of megalomania and evil.
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Cusack's character appears to be the head of ChristieBio - and the company name alone sounds incriminating in a show with a flu pandemic. Dr. Christie is a powerful, influential public figure with a much darker streak behind closed doors, and could be the central villain thatUtopia UK never had. Moreover, ChristieBio is a private company, whereas the Russian flu incident in the original series was being peddled by governments and a secret worldwide organization, changing the complexion of the remake entirely.
It could just be the trailer's clever editing, or a dream sequence completely removed from its intended context, but does Amazon'sUtopia introduce superpowers? Around the 1:36 mark, two armed figures with platinum blonde hair and white suits fire their guns towards unseen opponents. Then nextframe appears to show the intended target (potentially Ian) deflecting the bullet with their hand, leaving behind a black mark. The originalUtopia wasn't even remotely fantastical in this sense, with an intricate conspiracy the most outlandish element in the mix. Introducing supernatural themes toUtopia would be a controversial move, and fans will be hoping there's more to this scene that the trailer lets on.
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Utopia premieres September 25th on Amazon Prime.
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Craig first began contributing to Screen Rant in 2016, several years after graduating college, and has been ranting ever since, mostly to himself in a darkened room. Having previously written for various sports and music outlets, Craig's interest soon turned to TV and film, where a steady upbringing of science fiction and comic books finally came into its own.Craig has previously been published on sites such as Den of Geek, and after many coffee-drenched hours hunched over a laptop, part-time evening work eventually turned into a full-time career covering everything from the zombie apocalypse to the Starship Enterprise via the TARDIS. Since joining the Screen Rant fold, Craig has been involved in breaking news stories and mildly controversial ranking lists, but now works predominantly as a features writer. Jim Carrey is Craigs top acting pick and favorite topics include superheroes, anime and the unrecognized genius of the High School Musical trilogy.
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Amazons Utopias Biggest Differences From The UK Original (So Far) - Screen Rant
- Travel & Resources: HONG KONG - Gay Asia and... - Utopia - December 8th, 2016 [December 8th, 2016]
- DELHI / NEW DELHI: Massage and Spas - Utopia - December 8th, 2016 [December 8th, 2016]
- Utopia (book) - Wikipedia - December 8th, 2016 [December 8th, 2016]
- Who is authorized to bind your family business to contracts? - Lexology (registration) - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Meanwhile in Canada Things Are Just as Bad - New York Times - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Stellaris: Utopia expansion lets you craft megastructural ringworlds - PC Gamer - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- JME Will Play Himself In A New Movie About A Vegan Utopia - The FADER - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- 'Stellaris' Utopia DLC Gets First Trailer; Will Introduce New Buildings And Perks - iDigitalTimes.com - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Utopia Pipeline project to bring 300 temporary jobs to New Philadelphia - New Philadelphia Times Reporter - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- With violin in hand, Mark Menzies finds hope for the future in the past - Los Angeles Times - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- The village aiming to create a white utopia - BBC News - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Brooklyn's A/D/O Co-Working Space Is Building a Utopia for Creatives of All Kinds - Artsy - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Revolution: Russian Art review from utopia to the gulag, via teacups - The Guardian - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- A notable show BAMPFA's 'Hippie Modernism: The Struggle for Utopia' - Berkeleyside - February 9th, 2017 [February 9th, 2017]
- In praise of utopias, not dystopias: Salutin - Toronto Star - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- British Airways Concorde 'Alpha Foxtrot' Arrives at New Bristol Home - AirlineGeeks.com (blog) - February 11th, 2017 [February 11th, 2017]
- The Bannon-Trump Arc of History | The American Spectator - American Spectator - February 13th, 2017 [February 13th, 2017]
- Plotting 'No-Place' in 'Utopia Neighborhood Club' - Seattle Weekly - February 15th, 2017 [February 15th, 2017]
- Bruno Ganz on New Film About Last Days of East Germany: 'This Is a Subject That Will Never Let Me Go' - Variety - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- Utopia releases its next version of master data governance solution for enterprise asset management - SDTimes.com - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- Drought-crazed utopia flushes away common sense - NewHampshire.com - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- New Barbarians: Inside Rolling Stones' Wild Seventies Spin-Off - RollingStone.com - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- Katy Perry's New Music Video Might Just Be Her WILDEST Yet - TeenVogue.com - February 18th, 2017 [February 18th, 2017]
- Lenkom Theater: From Soviet utopia to post-modern dystopia - Russia Beyond the Headlines - February 20th, 2017 [February 20th, 2017]
- Utopia Opera Presents THE GRAND DUKE, 3/3-3/11 - Broadway World - February 21st, 2017 [February 21st, 2017]
- Chuck Huckelberry: Pima County sees the world as it is - Arizona Daily Star - February 21st, 2017 [February 21st, 2017]
- Mardi Gras brings on the fun - Tullahoma News and Guardian - February 22nd, 2017 [February 22nd, 2017]
- Anglea Henderson-Bentley: New take on Jack the Ripper an idea whose 'Time' has come - Huntington Herald Dispatch - February 23rd, 2017 [February 23rd, 2017]
- Knowledge can fight ignorance: New speakers series will shed light on Yemen - Detroit Metro Times - February 23rd, 2017 [February 23rd, 2017]
- Utopian sci-fi survival horror game, PAMELA, enters Steam Early Access on March 9th New Screenshots - DSOGaming (blog) - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- Reese Witherspoon on New Zealand: 'You can't capture it in pictures' - Newshub - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- $168000 headphones to go on display - The New Paper - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- A peek inside the Downtown Project with Aimee Groth - Las Vegas Review-Journal - February 25th, 2017 [February 25th, 2017]
- Utopia is coming, with a basic income for all - The Times (subscription) - February 27th, 2017 [February 27th, 2017]
- Government shakeups and political unrest are coming to Stellaris in its Utopia expansion - PCGamesN - February 27th, 2017 [February 27th, 2017]
- The board hoard: your guide to the best new board games - The Guardian - February 28th, 2017 [February 28th, 2017]
- Tempted To Move Out Of The U.S.? New Zealand Wants To Help ... - Forbes - February 28th, 2017 [February 28th, 2017]
- New Utopia | Prometheism.net - Part 4 - February 28th, 2017 [February 28th, 2017]
- Utopia expansion for Stellaris coming in April, new trailer - PC Invasion - PC Invasion (blog) - February 28th, 2017 [February 28th, 2017]
- THE SOUND OF MUSIC to Welcome New 'Georg von Trapp' on Tour in Hershey - Broadway World - March 1st, 2017 [March 1st, 2017]
- At BAMPFA, 'Hippie Modernism' Proves the Fight for Utopia is Far from Over - KQED - March 1st, 2017 [March 1st, 2017]
- Watch brutal Xenomorph attack in new 'Alien: Covenant' trailer - CNET - March 1st, 2017 [March 1st, 2017]
- Stellaris: Utopia Path to Ascension release date trailer - Gameplanet - March 1st, 2017 [March 1st, 2017]
- Utopia Frozen Yogurt and Coffee House | Ellensburg, WA - March 1st, 2017 [March 1st, 2017]
- Stellaris Utopia Gameplay Expansion Out In April - Attack of the Fanboy - March 2nd, 2017 [March 2nd, 2017]
- Dr. John to headline Utopia Fest in final year at Four Sisters Ranch ... - austin360 (blog) - March 2nd, 2017 [March 2nd, 2017]
- JUSTIN JOHNSON: It's a TRAP! - SCNow - March 2nd, 2017 [March 2nd, 2017]
- Want utopia? Start with universal basic income and a 15-hour work week - Wired.co.uk - March 3rd, 2017 [March 3rd, 2017]
- Extreme Channel 4 reality challenge Mutiny makes its sailors suffer - iNews - March 3rd, 2017 [March 3rd, 2017]
- Rutger Bregman: 'We could cut the working week by a third' - The Guardian - March 4th, 2017 [March 4th, 2017]
- March 4, 2017 - EDP Foundation - Utopia/Dystopia / Hctor Zamora: Order and Progress - E-Flux - March 4th, 2017 [March 4th, 2017]
- Utopia for Realists and How We Can Get There by Rutger Bregman ... - The Guardian - March 6th, 2017 [March 6th, 2017]
- A taste of 'Utopia' - Otago Daily Times - March 6th, 2017 [March 6th, 2017]
- Father John Misty references Taylor Swift in new song, 'Total Entertainment Forever' - EW.com - March 6th, 2017 [March 6th, 2017]
- 'Time After Time' delivers Jack the Ripper to modern-day New York - The San Gabriel Valley Tribune - March 7th, 2017 [March 7th, 2017]
- Father John Misty Explained The Taylor Swift Sex Line In 'Total Entertainment Forever' - UPROXX - March 7th, 2017 [March 7th, 2017]
- Why everyone hates the GOP's new health plan - The Week Magazine - March 8th, 2017 [March 8th, 2017]
- Hello Cuba, Adios Utopia: Cuban Art in Texas - Observer - March 11th, 2017 [March 11th, 2017]
- Why Canada will come to regret its embrace of refugees - New York Post - March 11th, 2017 [March 11th, 2017]
- Utopia in the Time of Trump - lareviewofbooks - March 11th, 2017 [March 11th, 2017]
- Whole of It: 'Free Cake at the Top' - Scottsbluff Star Herald - March 12th, 2017 [March 12th, 2017]
- Portugal's MAAT could become the world's most exciting venue for art and architecture - The Architect's Newspaper - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- Stellaris Utopia DLC Review - Paradox's spacefaring grand strategy ... - PC Invasion (blog) - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- The post-Brexit fantasy of a utopia of flammable sofas - New Statesman - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- Why Open Borders Would Strengthen Our Economy | The Huffington ... - Huffington Post - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- Best of the Week: Focal Utopia, Sonos Playbase, Sgt. Pepper reissue, new 4K Xbox and more - What Hi-Fi? - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- Stellaris: Utopia review | PC Gamer - PC Gamer - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- Utopia lost: Man wants Berrien 'town' on the map - Valdosta Daily Times - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- Psych Ward: The Hulk - Marvel (press release) (registration) (blog) - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- Men Are from Mars, Wonder Woman is Also from Mars - VICE - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- Jordie Bellaire: Vision Visionary - Marvel (press release) (registration) (blog) - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- The Dark Side of Globalization - American Spectator - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- China's next 'city from scratch' called into question - Financial Times - June 7th, 2017 [June 7th, 2017]
- Wonder Woman's dueling origin stories, and their effect on the hero's feminism, explained - Vox - June 7th, 2017 [June 7th, 2017]
- Introduction: Open Utopia | The Open Utopia - June 7th, 2017 [June 7th, 2017]
- Paperback Row - New York Times - June 8th, 2017 [June 8th, 2017]
- NEXUS pipeline revved and waiting - News - Times Reporter - New ... - New Philadelphia Times Reporter - June 8th, 2017 [June 8th, 2017]
- MAVI Museum of Visual Arts - E-Flux - June 9th, 2017 [June 9th, 2017]
- World-famous author has found his writing utopia outdoors, under a tarp, in Davis - Sacramento Bee - June 9th, 2017 [June 9th, 2017]
- Let's break down the incredible Black Panther trailer - The Verge - June 10th, 2017 [June 10th, 2017]