Award-Winning Creator Gilligan Himself Shares the Sci-Fi Inspirations Behind His Upcoming Show Titled Pluribus
After a long break away from sci-fi storytelling, Vince Gilligan is making a return back to where he began. Starting out on The X-Files, where he penned three dozen installments, and also writing the screenplay for Will Smith’s film Hancock, the creator has spent the past decade-plus focused on the world from Breaking Bad Universe. Now, via his latest streaming series Pluribus, he returns back home toward sci-fi which kicked off his journey.
A Secretive Premise with Cryptic Teasers
The storyline and concept of Pluribus remain closely guarded. The trailers and teasers are tantalizingly vague. In one, a brief scene shows a woman alone at work at night calmly taking donuts from a container marked “Feel free!” and licking each one prior to returning them carefully back in its place. Critics aren’t allowed to disclose details about the show’s thrilling premiere, except that the narrative begins when our modern world transforms dramatically.
Gilligan’s Science Fiction Watchlist
Since specifics about the story or development were off-limits, Gilligan fielded a simple inquiry: Which other science fiction series or movies ought viewers see to prepare before Pluribus?
“Both the original and the remake adaptations of Invasion of the Body Snatchers; that's a good touchstone,” Gilligan states. “The Twilight Zone, that’s forever my go-to. The Thing, John Carpenter's film. I enjoy each one, but I particularly love Carpenter’s take.”
An Homage to Sci-Fi Fans
If you’re a fan of sci-fi or horror, you will probably recognize the stories that influenced Pluribus. Its inspirations aren’t exactly subtle — which is the point. The creator says his goal with this series was to play with sci-fi tropes.
“My thought process involved of all the sci-fi clichés and horror conventions I could incorporate into the series, before turn all of those tropes onto their head,” he says. “ That’s what made me excited.”
In other words: Pluribus serves as a sci-fi show aimed at sci-fi fans. So if you approach the show as a Breaking Bad devotee who’s never been much for science fiction, you may want to do some preparation in advance. Gilligan has now offered the curriculum.
Pluribus premieres November 7 via Apple TV+.
