It’s been ages since there was any news on HBO Max’s DMZ adaptation—and now the show is almost here. The limited series (based on the Vertigo comic by writer Brian Wood and artist Riccardo Burchielli) premieres next week. Rosario Dawson stars as Alma, a medic who goes into Manhattan—now a DMZ, or demilitarized zone, following a second civil war—in search of her son.
The trailer shows a strikingly battered and overgrown New York City, which makes a person wonder: How long has that kid been in there?
DMZ‘s pilot episode is directed by Ava DuVernay (A Wrinkle in Time), who’s also one of the executive producers. Its creator, writer, and showrunner is Roberto Patino (a writer and producer on Westworld). The show makes some considerable changes from the comics, which followed photojournalist Matty Roth into the DMZ. Now, Alma is the main character, but the setting is the same: a dangerous, abandoned Manhattan, cut off from the rest of the country after civil war breaks out. HBO’s logline doesn’t offer much to ponder, saying only:
DMZ leaps off the pages of the DC acclaimed graphic novel into the visual landscape of a dangerous and distorted Manhattan as one woman navigates a demilitarized zone in a harrowing quest to find her lost son.
When the first peek at the show arrived in late 2021, DuVernay shared a photo from shooting the pilot, which she was directing when everything shut down in 2020. Filming the rest of the series must have been a considerably different experience.
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What I was directing when the world shut down in 2020. There are 1000 background actors in that scene. Who knows when we’ll be able to have that many maskless folks on set again. Not anytime soon. Also: @rosariodawson is dreamy to work with. Love to my #DMZ + @ARRAYNow families. https://t.co/yNAYKpiieJ
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) December 22, 2021
DMZ also stars Benjamin Bratt (Doctor Strange), Hoon Lee (Warrior), Freddy Miyares, Jordan Preston Carter, and Venus Ariel, and guest stars include Mamie Gummer (Mr. Robot) and Rutina Wesley (True Blood). All four episodes premiere on HBO Max on March 17th.
