Exciting news from the team at BHP Comics who have announced that their Killtopia series is to become a TV show courtesy of transmedia start-up Voltaku. BHP put out a wide range of titles from genre fiction to socially relevant comics projects. If you’re looking to find out more about their books check out this interview with publisher Sha Nazir here at BF.
BHP Comics series ‘Killtopia’ to become Unreal Engine powered TV show.
BHP Comics is thrilled to announce that they have optioned the TV rights of Graphic Novel series Killtopia to transmedia startup Voltaku.
Voltaku plans a forthcoming cyberpunk animated TV show based on the BHP published award winning series by Dave Cook with Craig Paton Killtopia. Described as “Blade Runner meets Battle Royale for the Fortnite generation,” Killtopia follows a bounty hunter and his robot sidekick through a futuristic megacity to save his sister.
The series consists of eight 20-minute episodes, developed using Unreal Engine and virtual production techniques. The show will be written by TV, film and game veteran Phil Gelatt (Love Death & Robots, Europa Report, Rise of the Tomb Raider), with concept art provided by David Levy & Pitch Dev Studios (Avatar sequels, Tron: Legacy,Prometheus). It will be helmed by Oscar-nominated director Ruairi Robinson (Fifty Percent Grey, The Leviathan, The Last Days on Mars).
Charles Borland, Voltaku CEO said “Game engines are giving studios a flexibility we’ve never seen before,” “When we option a project, it doesn’t have to stop with a movie or a TV series anymore. We can take our 3D production assets and build a game, VR/AR experiences, marketing materials, digital goods, basically anything we want, at Lion King or Avatar-like production levels. And that’s exactly what ‘otaku’ are looking for — more ways to engage with the worlds they love.”
Sha Nazir, BHP Publisher said “We’re very excited to see where the project goes, we love Voltakus approach and ethos and think they’re the perfect fit to deliver some great entertainment.”
Dave Cook, creator of Killtopia said “When Killtopia launches, it’s going to look like nothing that’s been seen on TV before. Our world is garish and vibrant, where hype, fandom and pop culture rule the day, which is the perfect launching pad for big stories. I’ve always wanted to see something so colourful and abstract depicted in a 3D world. With Voltaku’s help, I think we’re going to blow people away.”
To get the project off the ground, Voltaku received an Epic MegaGrant from Epic Games, which will be used to develop their completely Unreal-powered pipeline. Voltaku joins nearly 1,000 talented teams and individuals as part of the $100 million Epic MegaGrants program, which is designed to support game developers, enterprise professionals, media and entertainment creators, students, educators and tool developers working with Unreal Engine or enhancing open-source capabilities.
