Award-Winning Creator Gilligan Reveals His Sci-Fi Inspirations For The New Series Pluribus
After an extended hiatus from sci-fi storytelling, Vince Gilligan is staging a comeback back to where he began. Starting out on The Iconic X-Files Series, where he penned three dozen installments, and even crafting the screenplay for Will Smith’s film Hancock, Gilligan devoted the past decade-plus focused on the universe of Breaking Bad Universe. Now, with his latest Apple TV project Pluribus, he returns full circle to sci-fi that launched his career.
A Mysterious Plot with Cryptic Trailers
The storyline and premise of Pluribus remain closely guarded. The trailers and teasers are tantalizingly ambiguous. For example, a brief scene shows a woman by herself at work at night nonchalantly lifting pastries out of a container marked “Help yourself!” and licking them prior to placing the treats neatly back in its place. Reviewers aren’t allowed to say anything about the show’s explosive premiere, except that the narrative kicks off when today’s society transforms in a significant way.
The Creator’s Science Fiction Recommendations
Since specifics about the story or production could not be discussed, the showrunner was asked an innocuous inquiry: What additional sci-fi shows or movies should fans see to get ready for Pluribus?
“Each of the original and the remake versions of Invasion of the Body Snatchers; that’s an excellent reference point,” Gilligan explains. “The Twilight Zone, that's always my go-to. The Thing, John Carpenter's version. I enjoy each one, but I especially like Carpenter’s take.”
An Homage to Science Fiction Enthusiasts
For those who are an admirer of science fiction or scary movies, you will probably recognize the tales inspiring Pluribus. Its inspirations aren’t exactly subtle — which is exactly the idea. The creator notes his goal for this series was to play with the genre itself.
“I was thinking of all the science fiction trope and horror-movie trope I could incorporate into this show, and then flip all of those tropes onto their head,” he adds. “ That’s what made me excited.”
In other words: Pluribus is a science fiction series for genre lovers. So if you’re coming the show being a Breaking Bad devotee who isn’t typically into sci-fi, you may want to do a bit of homework in advance. Gilligan just provided the curriculum.
Pluribus premieres November 7 via Apple TV+.
