“Mutant: Year Zero” Film In Production
Heroic Signatures today announced the company is in production on its first animated feature film for its popular franchise, Mutant: Year Zero. Based on Mutant: Year Zero Road to Eden, a tactical adventure video game first released in 2018, the film follows an unlikely team of animal-mutants as they navigate a post-apocalyptic wasteland in search of answers. Dolph Lundgren (Expend4bles, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom) and Ian McElhinney (The Outlaws, Game Of Thrones) will lend their voices to the feature, with more talent to be announced soon.
The Mutant: Year Zero film is being produced using Unreal Engine 5 in an innovative approach to video game IP adaptation. The team will introduce all-new animation assets that expand the storyline of Mutant: Year Zero Road to Eden, which was developed using Unreal technology, while additionally revitalizing original assets for a cinematic experience. The film is being produced and directed by Hasraf ‘HaZ’ Dulull, a pioneer in real-time technology filmmaking, who started his career in video games and visual effects (The Dark Knight, Hellboy2) before moving into filmmaking (Max Beyond, Fast Layne). The film is additionally produced by President of Heroic Signatures, Fred Malmberg and Pathfinder founding partner Mark Wheeler. Developed in collaboration with HaZimation and Northern Ireland Screen, the national screen agency for Northern Ireland, additional film creatives include Paula Crickard, Producer (Expend4bles, Memory, My House), and Music Composer Edward White (Gears of War, Transformers: Reactivate).
The Mutant: Year Zero story is set in a post-apocalyptic world, where an unlikely team of animal-mutants, led by a witty duck and a gruff boar, set out on a dangerous mission to reclaim an essential generator stolen from their sanctuary, the Ark. Together, the group of scavengers uncover a deeper truth behind the Ark’s divisions, confront the oppressive regime of the Elder, and discover the secrets that could reshape their dystopian existence.
Our Take
Hasraf Dulull released a dud in Max Beyond earlier this year but this series, if done correctly, could be a nice bounce back production. Already the character models look much improved compared to Haz’s previous effort, here’s hoping this one works out.
I hope this turns out to be another Gravity Falls-type show with an overarching storyline.