Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Rebellion Releases - 31 January 2024


Duncan Jones wraps principal photography on Rogue Trooper movie
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Duncan Jones’ (Moon, Source Code, Warcraft, Mute) eagerly anticipated movie adaptation of classic British comic Rogue Trooper has wrapped principal photography in the UK. Written and directed by Jones, Rogue Trooper  is an animated science fiction feature from Rebellion and Liberty Films.

Shot at Rebellion Film Studios in Oxfordshire, breakout talent Aneurin Barnard (The Goldfinch, Dunkirk) stars as the eponymous Rogue Trooper, alongside Hayley Atwell (Captain America: The First Avenger, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One), Jack Lowden (Slow Horses, Dunkirk), Daryl McCormack (Bad Sisters, Good Luck To You Leo Grande), and Reece Shearsmith (Inside No. 9, Saltburn). Rounding out the cast is an incredible ensemble, which includes Jemaine Clement (Avatar 2: The Way of Water), Matt Berry (What We Do in the Shadows), Diane Morgan (Cunk on Earth), Alice Lowe (Black Mirror), Asa Butterfield (Sex Education, Hugo) and Sean Bean (Game of Thrones, The Lord of the Rings).

Rogue Trooper tells the story of 19, a ‘Genetic Infantryman’, who finds himself the sole-survivor of an invasion force. Desperate to track down the traitor who sold him and his comrades out, the super soldier is accompanied by three killed-in-action squad mates, whose personalities have been stored in his gun, helmet and rucksack.

Filmmaker Duncan Jones said: “2000 AD offers a very different flavour of comic action: Political and brutal at times, but always with a Pythonesque twinkle in the eye. Dredd (2012) was a taste of what 2000 AD has to offer and now we get to show the world another side of the beast. It is a genuine privilege to be given the opportunity to make Rogue Trooper.”

Treehouse Digital (The Well) is creating all imagery and animation for the film, working with Jones to bring to life the world of Rogue Trooper from concept art to final pixel in Unreal Engine 5.


Producer Stuart Fenegan commented: “The advancements in Unreal Engine 5 and the inclusion of MetaHuman rigs mean that it is now possible to achieve a very high standard of animation within an indie budget. Working with our amazing partners at Rebellion, Epic and Treehouse Digital we are pioneering and developing a new creative pipeline that will enable independent production of CG animated films.”

Unreal Engine from Epic is a development platform that enables creators across numerous industries to realise real-time 3D content and experiences.

Rebellion CEO, Jason Kingsley CBE, who is a Producer on Rogue Trooper, added: “We are thrilled to be working with Duncan Jones, who is a fellow British creative visionary and 2000 AD fan with global reach. Rogue Trooper highlights Rebellion’s leading position within the entertainment industries. It has been filmed at our dedicated Oxfordshire film studios and combines beautiful storytelling from our iconic 2000 AD comic book universe with animation and production technology from the video game industry. We cannot wait for everyone to see these incredible stories bought to life on screen.”

The Rogue Trooper comic was created by legendary artist Dave Gibbons (Watchmen, Kingsman) and writer Gerry Finley-Day (Dan Dare) and released by British publishers 2000 AD, home to Judge Dredd, Halo Jones and Sláine.

Rogue Trooper is produced by Stuart Fenegan (Moon, Source Code, Warcraft, Mute) alongside Jason Kingsley (Dredd, School’s Out Forever), Chris Kingsley (Dredd, School’s Out Forever) and Duncan Jones. The film is set to complete in 2025.

And now, this week's releases...

2000AD Prog 2367
Cover: Alex Ronald

JUDGE DREDD // A BETTER WORLD by Rob Williams & Arthur Wyatt (w) Henry Flint (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
THE ENGLISH ASTRONAUT by Paul Cornell (w) Laura Helsby (a) Matt Soffe (c) Jim Campbell (l)
FULL TILT BOOGIE // BOOK TWO by Alex de Campi (w) Eduardo Ocana (a) Eva De La Cruz (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
ENEMY EARTH // BOOK THREE by Cavan Scott (w) Luke Horsman (a) Simon Bowland (l)
THISTLEBONE // THE DULE TREE by T.C. Eglington (w) Simon Davis (a) Simon Bowland (l)

War Picture Library: The Crimson Sea by Fred Baker, E. Evans, Donne Avenell (w), Hugo Pratt (a)
Rebellion ISBN 978-183786199-6, 31 January 2024, 272pp, £19.99. Available via Amazon.

The title story of this collection, The Crimson Sea, tells the tale of a younger brother of an officer, both survivors of the sunken HMS Grapnel, who feels he must step out of his brother's shadow with astonishing acts of bravery. There are three other stories in this collection; Pathfinder focuses on an Australian pilot joining the RAF, Up the Marines features tales of Royal Marine Commandos being sent on daring missions behind enemy lines, and in Dark Judgment two rescued POWs are suspected of not being who they claim to be - each of these four stories is stunningly drawn by the Italian comics maestro Hugo Pratt just a few years before he created Corto Maltese!

Strontium Dog Search and Destroy Volume 3: The 2000AD Years by Alan Grant, John Wagner (a), Carlos Ezquerra
Rebellion ISBN 978-187386103-3, 1 February 2024, 192pp, £24.99. Available via Amazon.

In 2150 a catastrophic war led to 70% of Britain's population being wiped out. Strontium 90 fallout led to an increase of children being born with strange mutations. Hated by average humans, the mutants faced terrible oppression when politician, Nelson Kreelman, introduced a series of anti-mutant laws enforced by a brutal police force.
    In 2167 the mutants decided to fight back. Amongst their ranks was a young boy with named Johnny Alpha with white blank eyes and a mutant power that grants him a series of powers, including the ability to see through many surfaces. Driven by tragedy, Johnny has a very personal reason wanting to topple the regime and bring Kreeler down.

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