As Apple continues to build out its family-friendly original video service ahead of fall launch, news reached us today that the company has signed a deal with director and producer Jon Favreau for a CGI documentary series about dinosaurs, titled “Prehistoric Planet”.
Broadcast reports that the upcoming natural-history series will recreate the last days of the dinosaurs, with director Jon Favreau and “Planet Earth II” producer Mike Gunton teaming on the series. Favreau directed Marvel’s “Iron Man,” Disney’s “The Jungle Book” live-action remake and the upcoming live-action reboot of “The Lion King.”
“Prehistoric Planet” will be produced by BBC Studios’ highly-regarded Natural History Unit.
Variety has more:
The show will use CGI to take viewers back in time, experiencing the wonders of planet Earth 66 million years ago. Double Academy Award winner Andrew R. Jones (‘Avatar’) is also on the production team, as is producer Tim Walker.
Those kinds of docu-series have the potential to keep nature lovers glued to their screens. Almost all major players in the streaming space have natural-history shows of their own, led of course by National Geographic, now owned by Disney.
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Take rival Netflix, for example, which has a great nature show titled “Our Planet” and narrated by David Attenborough. The streaming giant has also locked in producer James Honeyborne, who worked on the documentary series “Blue Planet II”.
According to the Variety report, Discovery recently unveiled plans for a brand new factual video-streaming service that will be “powered by blue-chip fare produced by the BBC.”
Apple is working on other educational programs, including documentaries on elephants, climate change, singer Ed Sheerhan and NBA star Kevin Durant. About a month ago, the iPhone producer hired Molly Thompson away from A&E Network to head its documentary division.
Image: Tyrannosaurus rex fossil exhibit in the American Museum of Natural History