During San Diego Comic Con, Amazon Prime Video celebrated one of it’s newest shows with a massive an immersive activation. The Expanse activation was one three that Amazon Prime Video was hosting, along with Carinal Row and the Boys. If you aren’t familiar with the Expanse, here is your crash course. The Expanse is an American science fiction television series developed by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, based on The Expanse novels by James S. A. Corey (the pen name for Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck). Naren Shankar serves as showrunner and executive producer. The show was originally on Syfy for three seasons before being canceled. Thanks to the efforts and campaigning of loyal fans, it was picked up by Amazon Prime Video.
The show is set hundreds of years in the future, humans have colonized the solar system. The U.N. controls Earth. Mars is an independent military power. The planets rely on the resources of the Asteroid Belt, where air and water are more precious than gold. For decades, tensions have been rising between these three places. Earth, Mars and the Belt are now on the brink of war. And all it will take is a single spark. Critics have praised the show for its visuals, character development, and political narrative. It received a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation and three Saturn Award nominations for Best Science Fiction Television Series.
During San Diego Comic Con, Amazon Prime Video celebrated it’s newest shows with a massive an immersive activation. The Expanse activation enlists the help of the fans to assist with a UN peacekeeping mission on the newly colonized planet, Illus. Never seen before, fans will be able to walk and see Illus for the first time. Participants will explore new terra, pursue science-driven discoveries, and attempt to ease tensions between private corporations vying for-profit and refugee groups just struggling to survive.
Showrunner Naren Shankar and the writers of the novels Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck ran through the activation and answered questions about the show and what the differences have been like moving from Syfy to Amazon Prime Video.
“One that really did hit home was when you hear “Oh, we are going to launch in 200 countries globally. That’s a scale that we are not used to. We’re used to being on a fairly small basic cabal audience. And sort of trickling out and getting a little bit larger and finally it goes on amazon prime. But now to come out of the gate, to launch globally like this with this kind of show, It’s a completely new experience for us.” Naren Shankar stated.
When asked if this new change would mean changes in storytelling or if it’s allowed them to do things they hadn’t been able to in the past Naren Shakar states “I think it has allowed us to indulge many paths. The story that Ty and Daniel wrote has always been complex, it’s been multi-layered plotlines. Its been spread between different locations. Lots of different sets and ships and places. That part hasn’t changed. But how we put those stories on camera, I would say, there’s a beautiful new look for the show this season. It’s things that we’ve never seen before on the expanse. This Ilus activation is part of it. It’s part of the storyline this season. We are going to the first habitual habitable world beyond the ring. There are protomolocule ruins and there is mystery and it’s a new place. It’s the first time human beings have set foot on this planet. That’s new for the show.”
For the full interview and footage from The Expanse activation check out the video above.
