A new trailer for Scavengers Reign, which premieres on MAX on October 19, reveals a gripping sci-fi thriller that is drawing comparisons to Aliens, Riddick, and Event Horizon.
The 12-episode series will premiere its first three episodes on the 19th before transitioning to a weekly release pattern, eventually concluding on November 9.
Speaking to io9, co-executive producer. Sean Buckelew shared, "We’d been looking at Werner Herzog’s approach to understanding nature. Predators, prey, parasites, and symbiotic relationships are all normal in that ecosystem. But once you put a human in the middle of it, it can be uncomfortable or appear evil, when it’s really just neutral."
Titmouse, Inc. (Black Dynamite, Big Mouth) is handling animation for the sci-fi series.
Joe Bennett (From God's Mouth to Your Ears, Scavengers) and Charles Huettner (Scavengers, Ghost Stories) co-created and executive produced the show.
The show was spawned from Bennett and Huettner’s critically acclaimed, 8-minute 2016 sci-fi short, Scavengers.
On the short's genesis, Bennett previously stated, "Scavengers began when someone at Adult Swim who was making smaller short-form content reached out and said they’d been watching our shorts online and was wondering if we were interested in doing something with them." The project to take the short and turn it into a full-fledged series fizzled out at Adult Swim but the rise of HBO Max led to renewed interest in the show.
Bennett went on to reveal that the show is inspired by U.S. biologist Lynn Margulis and the Gaia Hypothesis- which postulates that all organisms and their inorganic surroundings on a planet are tightly interconnected to form a single, self-regulating complex system that maintains the planet's life-supporting functions. In essence, the theory postulates that all life on Earth (including humans) is essentially bacteria that assists the planet in carrying out its daily tasks.
Titmouse's executive producers also include Chris Prynoski, Antonio Canobbio, Shannon Prynoski, and Ben Kalina, with Benjy Brooke serving as supervising director. Sean Buckelew and James Merrill co-executive produce for Green Street Pictures.
In Scavengers Reign, the brainchild of visionary creators Joe Bennett and Charles Huettner, the remaining crew of a damaged interstellar freighter ship find themselves stranded on a beautiful yet unforgiving alien planet – where they must survive long enough to escape or be rescued.
But as the survivors struggle to locate their downed ship and missing crewmates, their new home reveals a hostile world allowed to thrive without human interference.
Featuring lush, visually stunning animation, Scavengers Reign presents a wholly unique view of the consequences of unchecked hubris and humanity’s eternal desire to conquer the unknown.
Cast includes Wunmi Mosaku (Azi), Bob Stephenson (Sam), Sunita Mani (Ursula), Ted Travelstead (Kamen) and Alia Shawkat (Levi).
The adult animated series debuts with three episodes on Thursday, October 19th at midnight PT, followed by three episodes weekly through November 9th on Max.