London on Wheels Goes for the Kill in First Mortal Engines Official Trailer

The two and some change minutes of the trailer is one of the most exciting ones we’ve seen in ages. First, there’s the first clear look at how Rivers envisioned Philip Reeve’s post-apocalyptic Earth, at the mercy of a mobile, meant-to-kill London on wheels.

Then, there’s the multitude of visual references that blends into this trailer cues taken from elsewhere in the movie and gaming industries.

We get an Assassin’s Creed feel 40 seconds into the trailer, then a Matrix and its Woman in Red taste (a taste that is augmented by the presence of Hugo Weaving, Mr. Smith, as Thaddeus Valentine) and towards the end we even get to see an Elf-like character that comes straight out of Lord of the Rings. There's even a flavor of Fallout in the Welcome to London poster.

Back to the movie itself, Mortal Engines is based on the series of books of the same name written by Philip Reeve. In the movie, the action takes place thousands of years after civilization was destroyed by a cataclysmic event called the Sixty Minute War.

Adapting to survive to the new conditions, while keeping somewhat in touch with their past, humans installed huge engines and wheels on London and other cities. The British capital now roams the planet preying upon smaller traction towns.

The movie is set to be released this December. It is based on a screenplay by Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, the group behind the scripts for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogies.

On his end, director Christian Rivers doesn’t have any big titles to his name as a director. He was onboard as visual effects specialist for the trilogies mentioned above and for 2005’s King Kong.