Best known for writing the books that launched TV series Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, George R.R. Martin will soon see the first film adaptation based on his works hit the big screen with In the Lost Lands. However, after the show’s successes, stars Dave Bautista, Milla Jovovich, and director Paul W.S. Anderson seem to be feeling the strain of adapting the iconic writer’s works.
“Oh yeah, I’m definitely feeling the pressure. I do have a bit of anxiety, because we’ve, you know, got a lot to live up to,” says Bautista to GamesRadar+, admitting he is a big Game of Thrones fan himself. “It would be one thing if people’s expectations weren’t set, but I believe their expectations are set very high. There’s a high bar there. It’s a high standard. And so we want to live up to that.”
However, co-star Jovovich seems to be keeping a cooler head as she sees the movie and the previous TV shows in two completely different lights. “I felt like this was so separate from the world of Westeros,” said the Resident Evil star. “I knew that Paul and I could give it a completely new look and take you on a journey through a George R.R. Martin story without having it be a part of the Game of Thrones world, like it’s a completely separate reality.”
Similarly, Anderson feels like he has created an experience so visually different to Game of Thrones and “specifically for the cinema” that the two are not really comparable. “So you have everything that people enjoy about George, the complex characters, the dark reverses, the creatures, the twists,” adds the director. “But then a completely different visual palette.”
As Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon are based on Martin’s lengthy A Song of Ice and Fire book series, the upcoming movie is adapted from one of the writer’s short stories also titled In the Lost Lands, which features in the 1982 fantasy anthology novel Amazons II. The story follows the intertwining tales of a witch, a wanderer, a queen. and a werewolf, set in a fantastical historical setting.
Much like the story, the movie follows a witch named Gray Alys (Jovovich) who is sent to the ‘Lost Lands’ by a queen who is desperate to become a werewolf. The official synopsis reads: “With the mysterious hunter Boyce (Bautista), who supports her in the fight against dark creatures and merciless enemies, Gray Alys roams an eerie and dangerous world. And only she knows that every wish she grants has unimaginable consequences.”
In the Lost Lands hits theaters on March 7. For more, check out our list of the best fantasy movies, or keep up with upcoming movies heading your way.