Alex Proyas Talks Tripods

Alex Proyas, a favorite here among us for his excellent Dark City, is talking about his latest project “The Tripods” based on the novels of John Christopher. The Tripods was also made into a British BBC series back in the 80’s but was canceled before they made it to the conclusion.

Lets turn to our good friend wikipedia for enlightenment on what these Tripods exactly are and how they will wreck havoc on mankind.

The story of The Tripods is post-apocalyptic. Humanity has been conquered and enslaved by “the tripods”, unseen alien entities who travel about in gigantic three-legged walking machines (the unsophisticated humans believe the walking machines themselves to be their living overlords). Human society is largely pastoral, with few habitations larger than villages, and what little industry exists is conducted under the watchful presence of the tripods. Lifestyle is reminiscent of the Middle Ages, but artifacts from previous ages are still used, giving individuals and homes a rather anachronistic appearance.

Humans are controlled from the age of 14 by cranial implants called “caps”, which suppress curiosity and creativity and leave the recipient placid and docile, incapable of dissent. The caps cause them to adore the tripods as their saviours. Some people whose minds are crushed under the pressure of the cap’s hypnotic power become vagrants who wander the countryside shouting nonsense.

Sounds like it’s right up Mr. Proyas’s alley. After the very recent success of  “Knowing”, Alex probably won’t have a hard time getting funding for his future projects. Let’s hope that one of these future projects is a Dark City sequel.

Digitalspy brings us a nice interview with Alex. Thanks to io9 for the scoop.