By Ethan Anderton/July 21, 2020 12:00 pm EST
Utopia focuses on a group of comic book nerds who became friends online after dissecting every detail of a popular fictional comic book called Dystopia. With a sequel called Utopia finally close to arrival, the gang gets together at a convention to get a sneak peek, but they suddenly find themselves being chased by trained assassins who are trying to stop anyone from reading it. Before the panel reveals even more about the series later this week, a few Utopia first look photos have surfaced online.
Utopia First Look Photos
So why do trained killers want to kill a bunch of nerds obsessed with a comic? They might get some answers from Jessica Hyde (Sasha Lane), the protagonist at the center of the comic book they love so much. It turns out that Jessica is not a fictional character at all, and she thinks that Utopia has something to do with her father going missing.
Also part of the story is Kevin Christie, a billionaire philanthropist played by John Cusack. This is a character who wasn’t part of the original series in the UK, and it’s part of Gillian Flynn’s desire to add more of a focus on government conspiracies and make the series feel like it wasn’t just treading the same territory. Flynn told EW:
Kevin Christie has some kind of connection to a new disease that’s being studied by Dr. Michael Stearns, played by The Office favorite Rainn Wilson. How does this tie in to the plot with the mysterious comic book Utopia? You’ll probably have to watch the series to find out.
“I’m a huge fan of all those conspiracy thrillers that came out after Watergate. All of [the British Utopia] plays very sleekly. I wanted mine to play bumpy, dirty, raw, real—like you’re walking on the gum on the sidewalk and smelling the garbage in the alley.”
