Almost 20 years ago, Der Schwarm was a book that was to conquer not only the German, but also the international bestseller lists. In Frank Schätzing’s sci-fi thriller a previously unknown maritime life form appears that has set itself the task of putting humanity in its place. With catastrophic consequences.
The ideal material for a series – ZDF thought so. And teamed up with several international production companies to one of the most spectacular series projects in German television history implement. After a long wait, the first pictures and more specific information about Der Schwarm are finally available.
From the start date to the first pictures: ZDF finally reveals something specific about the swarm
© ZDF/Fabio Lovino
The series adaptation of Der Schwarm deliberately relies on a diverse, international cast
In Berlin, ZDF presented the current status of their series project to a selected audience and invited those involved behind and in front of the camera. Cast and crew gave several panel discussions Insights into the production and first hints on when the swarm will finally flicker across home screens.
This is the most important information about The Swarm at a glance
Huge budget with Game of Thrones veterans: The sci-fi series is already being compared to Marvel
The Swarm is currently in post-production. In total, ZDF showed around 6 minutes of material from the first episode and gave an idea of how much was planned for the series. (See the beginning of the article for a nearly one-minute clip.) Orca whales who seem resolutely determined to wipe out humanity. Flocks of crabs moving inland from the sea – according to VFX supervisor Jan Stoltz, the series is moving with around 1000 VFX shots “at Marvel level”.
Netflix is also investing in German series on the high seas – with 1899 from those responsible for Dark:
1899 – S01 Teaser Trailer (German subtitles) HD
With Frank Doelger, someone who is also supposed to ensure international competitiveness was hired as showrunner. Of the Game of Thrones producer Among other things, it was important to make Frank Schätzing’s story more diverse and international, because: “Unfortunately, the novel was written at a time when women and minorities were still significantly less represented in science.”
ZDF obviously expects a lot from Der Schwarm – and the first pictures look promising. But there was one thing the people in charge in Berlin didn’t want to reveal: How deep ZDF had to dig deep into their pockets for one of their most ambitious projects to date. We will see in spring 2023 whether the investment was worth it.
Are you looking forward to The Swarm?