Before he was a mega-star author whose Song of Ice and Fire books inspired the cultural phenomenon TV series Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin had a reputation for razor-sharp short stories that garnered awards and enraptured readers. One of those stories was "In The Lost Lands," published in 1982 as part of the Amazons II anthology, which marked one of Martin's first forays into fantasy after spending most of the 1970s writing science fiction. Now, more than 40 years later, "In The Lost Lands" is coming to the big screen.
We've known that In The Lost Lands was on the way for a while, thanks to Martin keeping fans updated on his blog. But now we have the first ever trailer for it — also courtesy of Martin's blog. Check it out above!
"In The Lost Lands" introduced a character named Gray Alys, a mysterious sorceress who would trade unwitting customers anything their heart desired; it rarely worked out well for the customers, who found being entangled with Alys far more dangerous than expected. According to the plot summary for the movie, Alys sets out into the Lost Lands with the help of a guide in search of a "magical power that allows a person to transform into a werewolf."
In the movie version of In The Lost Lands, Alys is played by Milla Jovovich, while the hunter Boyce who guides her through the perilous Lost Lands is played by Dave Bautista. The movie is directed by Paul W.S. Anderson; he and Jovovich (who is also his wife) worked together on six Resident Evil films, so they have a long history of putting together these kinds of dark, stylish action-horror films.
That's exactly what In The Lost Lands looks like from this trailer: a dark, stylish action flick that will see Alys and Boyce navigate a world which was turned into a wasteland by an ancient war. I especially liked seeing a group of zealots bearing some tabards that looked like they belonged in the Crusades — that feels like it's right up Martin's alley, which is fun. I also have to note that Jovovich wields dual Khopesh blades; I have no idea whether Gray Alys goes around fighting people with swords in Martin's original story, but that is very on brand for Anderson and Jovovich, whose Resident Evil films saw Jovovich's character (also named Alice, coincidentally) turn into a martial arts hero who laid many a zombie low with her supernatural fighting skills.
Color me intrigued for Into The Lost Lands! It comes out in theaters on March 7, according to Martin's blog. The trailer only says that's it's coming "this winter."
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