Principal photography is underway on Netflix Latin America’s first Spanish novel, El futuro es nuestro, based on Philip K. Dick’s 1956 science fiction novel Jones. Showrunner Mateo Gil of Spain, whose credits include the Oscar-winning The Sea Inside, leads a talented cast and crew from across the region.
“This is one of our most ambitious and complex productions, with a scale and complexity on par with “One Hundred Years of Solitude” and “Eternity,” said Francisco Ramos, vice president of Latin American content at Netflix.
“The central idea of this series is to make it a truly Latin American show, not limited to a particular region or nationality. The main characters come from all over the continent, given the large-scale migration movement and the fact that the capital of this South American federation is in Asunción (Paraguay), giving us a wide and diverse background,” Gil told Variety.
In fact, the cast includes Mexico’s Emiliano Zurita (“No One Will Leave Us”); Delfina Chavez (“Máxima”) and Marco Antonio Caponi (“Yoshi”) from Argentina. Alfredo Castro (“The Count”) of Chile. Uruguay’s Enzo Vogričić (“Snow Society”); and Mareida Soto (“One Hundred Years of Solitude”) from Colombia.
Vicente Amorim (“Sena,” Brazil), Jesús Braceras (“Bara Brava,” Argentina) and Daniel Rezende (“A Thousand Sons,” Brazil) will direct the series.
Set in the not-too-distant future, this eight-episode limited series begins in 2047, when a massive environmental crisis creates Fedosa, a coalition of South American nations that impose strict measures to protect the environment and combat widespread hunger and violence.
Out of this chaos, new voices have emerged on the web claiming they can predict the future. Police officer Hugo Cruci (Voglinci) identifies the voice as a young preacher, Jonas Flores (Zurita), and arrests him. But that only makes Mr. Flores even more powerful and overnight he becomes the spiritual leader of the region. Jonas, who foresaw the fall of FedSur and the region’s victory over climate change, inspires millions of Latinos to join his reactionary revolution, while Cursi, pursued by the regime, undertakes a fateful mission to kill the religious tyrant who foresaw his intentions.
Gil, who co-wrote the adaptation with Laura Santullo (Uruguay), Camila Bruges Gómez (One Hundred Years of Solitude), and Kiza Terrazas (Machete Language), said they removed all references to alien invasions and mutants from the original story and replaced it with a world created by a collapsed economy.
“The series takes place between 2047 and 2051, but in the recent past, around the early 2030s, there was a major disruption to the global food system. That collapse led to national bankruptcy and complete economic collapse, plunging the world into extreme violence,” he explained.
For Ramos, choosing this particular story from among the many works written by the prolific author was a no-brainer. “We all felt that The World As We Built it deeply resonated with us, especially because of its central idea of humans being able to see the future. Its themes, along with the figure of its prophetic characters, felt especially powerful in the Latin American context. The way the story intertwined faith, art, and the creation of the entire universe really connected with us.”
“Yes, we thought this particular book was worthy of a transformation, if not a translation, because of course it’s centered around Latin America,” said Isa Dick Hackett, executive producer and the author’s daughter. Since 2007, she has produced adaptations of her father’s works through her company Electric Shepherd Productions, including The Scanner Darkly and The Man in the High Castle anthology series. “Electric Dreams” and the upcoming “Blade Runner 2099” starring Scott Free and Alcon.
“There have been a few successful film adaptations of his work in the past, but I felt like the level of specific filmmakers, sensibilities, and diversity wasn’t quite there. I felt it would be incredibly enriching and expand the horizons of what we’ve seen and what we normally associate with my father’s work. So my goal is to bring in some really unexpected voices, like we did with ‘Electric Dreams,'” she said.
Pointing to One Hundred Years of Solitude as a great example of Netflix, she added: “They’ve definitely shown that they can handle big productions, and this one is a really ambitious project. From what I’ve seen, especially compared to some of the US productions I’ve worked on, the amount of resources they have here is amazing. It’s allowed us to make this project really ambitious and even bigger than usual, and we’re very grateful for that.” Look forward to it. ”
“It’s a great challenge and an absolute honor for all of us involved to be part of a series like this,” said director Gil, who added that the series will have background filming in Argentina, Uruguay and finally Paraguay.
“The Future Is Ours” is produced by K&S Films (“The Eternaut”) and Electric Shepherd Productions.
Executive producers are Dick Hackett, Sarah Scougal, Matias Mostilin, Diego Copelo, Emiliano Torres, Mickey Bui and Analia Castro.
