Mortal Engines (2018)
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- Before Hera Hilmar was cast, several major A-list stars turned down the lead role because they felt the script was too risky.
- The incredible score for Mortal Engines was composed in just a few weeks after the original composer dropped out.
- Many of the practical effects used in the climax were achieved without any CGI.
Mortal Engines is a 2018 New Zealand post-apocalyptic science fiction film directed by Christian Rivers, produced by Peter Jackson, based on Philip Reeve's 2001 novel. Set thousands of years after a devastating war destroyed civilization, the film depicts a world where entire cities have been mounted on enormous tracked platforms that roam the wastelands consuming smaller towns for their resources β a practice called Municipal Darwinism. Hugo Weaving stars as Thaddeus Valentine, the head of London's engineering guild, whose plans to weaponize ancient technology are opposed by Hester Shaw, played by Hera Hilmar, a scarred young woman seeking revenge for her mother's murder.
The film's central conceit β massive, moving cities literally devouring smaller ones β was realized through spectacular visual effects by Weta Digital, creating some of the most impressive and imaginative cityscapes in science fiction cinema. Mortal Engines earned $83 million worldwide on a $100 million budget, a significant commercial loss.
