This fall will see NBC reviving the Heroes franchise for a macro-series. The new show will be 13 episodes long and there are currently no plans to go beyond that. In an interview with CBR Tim Kring (Heroes creator) made that clear when he said “It truly is 13 episodes and then the series ends.” He went on to say that having the second and third season which extended the original show to 26 episodes had a dramatic impact on their ability to keep the “quality up and [the] energy up on the schedule that we had”.
In the series trailer that was released during Comic Con we know that HGR, Matt Parkman, Mohinder, Angela Petrelli, the Haitian, and Micah return as characters, along with a seemingly new badass version of Hiro.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FLHB2zB_cA
There are also a few new faces joining the mix, including Luke (played by Zachary Levi), Quentin, Miko, Erica, and others. The new series takes place five years after the end of the original.
For those that don’t remember, the original series ended on a bit of a cliff-hanger with Claire jumping off the top of a ferris wheel in front of several news cameras. It was never revealed what happened, but one can assume by the fact that the government is forcing people with powers to ‘register’ (shades of Marvel’s Civil War and X-Men here) as an ‘Evo’, or evolved human, that Claire survived and the world learned about the powers.
NBC has even created a web series called Dark Matters that is meant as a prequel to the new Heroes Reborn show. It’s intended to introduce viewers to the new characters and give some background on what has happened in the intervening five years.
All this is a bit surprising when you consider that the studio gave up on the franchise after the writers strike and the subsequent poor ratings caused them to cancel. A second chance to finish the story, or at least clear some of it up doesn’t happen often, and this one, like the Firefly movie Serenity, can be chalked up to fan support.
When the Heroes crew stopped by Comic Con several years ago Tim Kring presented a “film reel and a dream” to the audience. The presentation was a success and the popularity of the show grew to become a massive phenomenon, causing NBC to give it a second look.
And like the first series, Reborn will be a multi media event, not just a simple television show. In addition to Dark Matters there will be two video games, six ebook prequels and an app with video content (at present the app is only available in the App Store).
Now generally speaking I’m excited for for a superhero based TV show or movie, especially one that is well done (Flash, Arrow, Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, etc) but I’m a mix of anxious, frustrated, and excited about Heroes Reborn. I’m excited because… yay! Superheroes!
I’m anxious because I really didn’t enjoy seasons 3 and 4 of the original series (as did many others hence the cancellation), and I’m not sure I want to take the risk of getting sucked into the new series. Granted it’s only 13 episodes so it won’t be *as* painful.
The frustrated… well, the short version is because in a way this is just another in a long line of reboots, re-imaginings, and re-hashes that Hollywood to be all about lately. There is very little originality coming out from that industry and when it is it’s rarely marketed and hyped as much rebooted material. That said, Heroes Reborn is a rare mix of reboot and original, so I’m hoping that the studio leaves the creator and crew alone to tell the story that they want or need to tell. Because that story? I like that story, and I want more.
What do you think of Heroes Reborn? Will you be tuning in? let us know in the comments below, or on Google+, Facebook, or Twitter.
Last Updated on January 12, 2019.
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