George R.R. Martin Short Story Adaptation Looks Like AI Slop In First Trailer

Image: Vertical

In the Lost Lands is a story about a drifter fighting humans and demons to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. It’s based on short story by Game of Thrones writer George R.R. Martin from long ago, and it’s directed by the eclectic Paul W. S. Anderson, the filmmaker behind such video game movies as Mortal Kombat, Resident Evil, and Monster Hunter. The trailer for his latest project appears, at first glance, almost indistinguishable from the AI slop that frequently goes viral on social media.

Suggested ReadingLive Forever in the Universe of ‘New World: Aeternum’

Suggested ReadingThat doesn’t mean In the Lost Lands, starring Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy, Dune) and Milla Jovovich (The Fifth Element, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter), will be bad. It’s just a first impression of a movie that seems to hinge on a weird mashup of Mad Max and the Renaissance Faire and to have been filmed predominantly in front of green screens.

There’s a series of ancient urban ruins fashioned into a coliseum, a steam engine locomotive designed to plough through demons, and lots of not so subtle Christian symbolism. What if Van Helsing meets 300: Rise of an Empire meets The Chronicles of Riddick meets The Book of Eli? ChatGPT could not cook you up a more cacophonous mix of influences and sensibilities.

The movie is based on one of Martin’s earliest fantasy stories, first published in 1982 as part of the Amazons II anthology. “A long time ago, I had hoped to write a series of stories about Gray Alys and those bold enough to buy from her…but life and other stories intervened, and somehow I never got around to writing that second tale,” Martin wrote in a forum post last year. “But who knows? If the film does well enough, maybe I will finally write that sequel. In my copious spare time.” He went on to describe the new movie as “dark and twisted and atmospheric, and a lot of fun.”

In the Lost Lands releases in theaters on March 7, 2025, and despite what a mess it looks like, you can bet my ass will be in the seat.

.