In terms of how long 1899 might run, Friese says the pair are trying their best to make it a multi-season show, but notes that "it depends on the viewers", as well as Netflix. One plus eight is nine. This, this Volume technology, is the beginning of a new era of visual effects. Fox Says Battle With Parkinsons Disease Keeps Getting Tougher: Im Not Going to Be 80, Channel Your Inner Queen Charlotte with This Star-Loved British Brands Exclusive Skincare Kit, Naomi Watts Just Wore These Under-$100 PJs from Two Star-Loved Brands And Theyre the Perfect Mothers Day Gift for Stylish Travelers, The Best Signet Rings for Adding a Red Carpet-Ready Touch to Your Jewelry Stack, The Best Gifts New Moms Really Want, From Cozy Robes to Virtual Escapes, James Gunns Guardians: How Chris Pratt and His Marvel Castmates Rescued Their Directors Career, The Whispers Behind NBCUniversals Jeff Shell Firing, Diane Keaton: Youre Gonna Pray to Get Off This Call, The Definitive Voice of Entertainment News. When we started, it was about what is the next step? Those were a key reference. One was we didnt want to do it and we were kind of pressured into it. For answers to those questions and more, The Hollywood Reporter turned to Odar and Friese for a closer look at the final season of Dark. But now Im fine. "We do love challenges," Odar says with a laugh. Its what we love about this thing. Go Behind the Cutting-Edge Technology of 1899. When women turn 40, their career dies down unfortunately. For me, its a very happy ending, realizing its not just about you all of the time. As you know with Dark, you dont have the straightforward narrative where you can go from one thing to the next. [Friese laughs] I played weird music the entire day and it became this very weird experience for everyone. Related Was it a challenge for the actors themselves, who are often performing opposite someone whose language they dont understand? That was very fun. Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. And then you try to find ways to incorporate it throughout the story.". Were moving through a story, and we want to know how it will be resolved in the end. So every riddle we put in there, we feel we have to solve it, she said. How did the actors react to working in this new virtual space? . Much to the disappointment of diehards who might venture to Berlin in the hopes of visiting the shows most pivotal location, the Winden cave doesnt actually exist. Friese: Some people have already found a lot of the imagery and paintings we used [throughout the series]. Odar promises another "very interesting, weird theme" to 1899, but can't reveal what it is. For fans who are still trying to figure out season three of Dark who was Noahs dad again? In constructing the visual representation of that Season 3 idea, Odar wanted to flip things literally, too. "In every season there is what I always call a bridge. That was the big question. Odar adds, "But is it the right one? Its very simple. this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. Everything is planned in that one holy book. Hannah reveals shes thinking about Jonas as a name for her unborn child. Now we finally fill in the gaps and you see how the circle plays out. She also doesn't want viewers to expect to learn everything when the show ends. Friese: I dont know. Although the show begins as the story of international immigrants on a steamship headed to America at the turn of the 20th century, by the end of the season we learn that the ship was a simulation, and our protagonists are actually on a spaceship in the year 2099. Especially with a show like Dark, which does close so many of those open loopholes, theres always a certain amount of desire to stay with those characters and see what happens after the turmoil has subsided. The reoccurring triangle symbol itself represents the element earth. For Louis, being on set and shes entering the room with his jacket, the first reaction was like, Give me back my jacket! And we're just waiting for the moment where someone shows up and says, 'April Fool's! Well, then how ambitious are you with this series? No one is just evil because they want to be; everyone is reacting to their own hurts and wounds. Stairs that go from left to right, they now go from right to left. Because Dark travels back and forth in time, dropping in on the same Winden residents at different ages in 33-year cycles, casting children, adults, and older versions of those characters is essential to sell the outlandish storytelling. Mysteries about characters allegiances or motives are hard to separate from their ties to family fates. The other thing was really, What is German? What can we put out in the world apart from the Second World War which I still think is also in Dark, even though were not in the timeline. That was actually very difficult to have a big enough pool of women to choose from, which I thought was quite sad.. You know if something is urgent or not important. At first, they were like, Really? Netflix has yet to address the viewership for Season 2 since it was only released recently on June 21, but the show is already in production for its third and final season, which will air sometime in 2020. How did the idea come about for 1899? Lets look at them as music instruments. "We're always very, very interested in why people do the things they do, and how they came to be the person they are," Friese explained. And he's not just talking major landscapes, but also more intimate set pieces, too. Having watched the first six episodes [of1899], it appears to be a bit less complicated thanDark. All Rights Reserved. Were going to see a bit more about grown Ulrich, she said. Its nice that this is built upon something that we created and someone else will come up with a new idea and so on. "To create worlds you need to create patterns, and the best way to create patterns is by using symbols," he said. The casting director did a fantastic job. It was so easy for them to just react. Wheres he going? Where does he come from? It's a highly rewarding if not particularly easy viewing experience, being at times hilariously confusing, especially if you're not a German speaker and are busy reading subtitles while new faces appear on screen. We have to do this? But then they loved it, too. I makes it very difficult.. When we got to the second season, we changed it again. Odar:Thats the purest geometrical form you use to create all the other forms. And in that script note, there would be a meta-conversation about language. It should feel different, because you have this image of a big steamship going from Europe to America and immediately you think this must be the cube version ofTitanic. The song White Rabbit plays over the opening credits. Speaking how we think French people would speak. How can I get over always reacting in the same patterns to certain situations? We thought it better to shift. Now I can spoil it: There is already a hint in Episode 1 when everyone is raising their teacup at the same moment. If you want to have an authentic performance, its just better when actors perform in their own language. Get The Latest IndieWire Alerts And Newsletters Delivered Directly To Your Inbox. Do you first have the themes and then drop in characters and develop the mystery out of that or do you have the puzzle first and then see how the characters and themes fit into that? Even if the hair color is lighter or if they have freckles, then that kind of a hint. We added a glitch to it. And every dialogue portion had a script note. Some of it was something that we developed throughout the process. Honestly, the most difficult people to find were women [older than middle age]. What was the original spark? Michael (Sebastian Rudolph) is Michael. And yes, Martha and Jonas, thats the big centerpiece of it all.. Thats where plot structure goes. I stick to a very weird process, which is that everything needs to fit into a book of [a certain] size. I still think that young Katharina is related to Old Katharina now because they just look the same. The 25 Saddest TV Character Deaths of This Century, According to Variety, about 90 percent of Darks audience comes from outside of Germany, and after the release of Season 1 in December 2017, Parrot Analytics noted that the show actually increased its viewership in its second week, mimicking the word-of-mouth viewership success of Stranger Things and Maniac., Its something you hope for, but it actually hit us really hard, said Friese. "It's definitely an association that a lot of people have," Friese says. This series, like Dark, is a huge mystery, a mystery wrapped in an enigma. How does it feel to be almost in a prison, because you cant get out of yourself? But you can create huge worlds with it." You can search, for example, for a character, and then you see the character arc, or you can search for a timeline and then you can see everything that's happening in that timeline.". The past shapes you and everything that happens.. Netflix took over that idea and build another Volume set in Mexico using a turntable tool. Friese:Its more a reference to the brain, to psychology and the science of perception. From Barbie to The Flash, Here Are the Movies That Made the Biggest Impact at CinemaCon. You can actually do something good by not being there so someone else can be lucky and happy. I cant tell you exactly at what point; it wasnt in the first rough concept, but I think it was during the writers room on the first draft in Season 1, said Friese. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! ", But amid all the symbology and references to religion and philosophical theory, there is one very simple concept that unites it all: the notion of an immutable past that, quite literally, in this case, always catches up to the present, and in so doing, informs the future. In the middle, there may be some ideas that are more loosely thrown in. Sign up for our Email Newsletters here. If you just compare the first season ofDarkwith the first season of1899, I think theyre similarly complex. She is a writer and producer, known for Dark (2017), Who Am I (2014) and 1899 (2022). We're way closer to America than we are actually to India. In the next phase I actually put it in pen. Chris Emil Janssen/Action Press/Shutterstock, Bo and I met in film school and since Day One, we were convinced that it was possible to tell local stories coming out of Germany that could hit an audience anywhere, Friese said. Its just a nice nuance with which to end. Netflix's Dark, the streaming service's first German-language original series, follows four families in a small town who become engaged, sometimes unwittingly, in a time-traveling battle between seemingly good and evil forces. If you're ready, you can also read our series finale recap and explainer. This Article is related to: Television and tagged Baran bo Odar, Dark, Jantje Friese, Netflix. Jantje Friese: What we really liked about 1899, not 1898 or 1897, is that it's on a threshold. Well send you our daily roundup of all our favorite stories from across the site, from travel to food to shopping to entertainment. All Rights Reserved. Friese: I think there is a lot to tell. "It was really nice that [Dark] was so well received, especially because it is a very weird, complex show in general," Odar admits. They would go, God damn it! How do I free myself from my reactions to certain impulses? bo Odar: We always think any piece of pop culture should be a reference to some other element of pop culture. So you have 999. 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In the series, a boy goes missing in the small German town of Winden, and as the series unspools, viewers learn that secrets, time travel, and a metaphysical battle between good and evil are behind that mystery. With that being said, is there still a story to tell in the universe of Dark, or do you feel closed at this point? Wllers eye isnt just a mystery, but one of the running jokes that makes Dark so rich. What kind of trigger words do you use? When the crew decides to board the Prometheus, things take a horrific, and decidedly weird, turn. Then at some point, when I feel stronger or happier with whats there, I put it down in pencil. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. But everyone now has seen all three seasons, and it gets really complicated. ", "There is a lot in the DNA that is kind of close to Dark in terms of the puzzle and needing an engaged active audience," Friese says. You can follow the Back to the Future kind of way where you can actually change stuff in the past that will affect the future which with my very personal more deterministic view of the world is nonsense, said Friese. Obviously, a pyramid already gives you so much mysterious context. You can never give a satisfying answer. I always loved that idea. Its not every word but you learn how a language sounds and, especially if you do a lot of takes, you get really used to it. 2023 IndieWire Media, LLC. . It could be a crying smiley face, or it could be a winking smiley face. You have to change the titles on them and mirror them. "But then the pandemic happens. It was something to give to the actors. The international cast includes Darkalum Andreas Pietschmann, Emily Beecham, Aneurin Barnard, Fflyn Edwards, Miguel Bernardeau, Maciej Musial, Lucas Lynggaard Tnnesen, Rosalie Craig, Clara Rosager, Maria Erwolter, Yann Gael, Mathilde Ollivier, Jos Pimento, Isabella Wei, Gabby Wong, Jonas Bloquet, Alexandre Willaume, and Anton Lesser, among others. Friese: There was supposed to be a scene in season two that got cut out. You can try that for a day, and its really awkward to do if youre not left-handed. The thriller follows a forensics agent desperate for answers after finding out shes an identical triplet. Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar have earned patience. But the biggest challenge was actually for actors to play everything in a mirrored way. Friese and Odar have been otherwise tight-lipped aboutthe series so far, buta teaser revealsall of the cryptic clues, strange symbols, and dark imagery fans of their work will recognize. "And obviously, this will only happen if enough people watch, but the way that we approached development and how season 1 is ending, you kind of want to have another one. It creates such a powerful illusion that, in the beginning, the crew and actors were actually getting seasick because the horizon was moving on the volume screen. ", "We're really bad at celebrating ourselves," he added. ", Her partner feels differently though. All Rights Reserved. More scientific-oriented thinking started [influencing society] while you still had very religious beliefs [also prevalent], and those two things pulled on each other, old and new. Friese wouldnt drop any spoilers not even saying how Season 3 will differ from the first two cycles but gave a few clues as to the faces viewers can expect. We can see that even if you dont really understand what words are being spoken, you understand what the other person is trying to communicate. FrieseThat was the whole point of the show. Teases Friese, "There's definitely a core theme in the center of 1899, as well, and it's basically looking at that core theme through a narrative, but it's not time travel. "Because in their arc, the narrative is straightforward. I think we we focused on the stuff where we just personally felt it adds to the overall mystery and we need to deliver the ending. ", The poster for 1899 (below) shows a ship perched on the edge of a triangle in the middle of the ocean, leading some fans to speculate that the mysterious Bermuda Triangle myth could play a part in the story. We asked creators Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar as many of those questions as we could.