Falling Skies returns to our screens June 2014 but we recently got an inside look at the magic behind the series alien creatures. This weekend at NYCC new show runner David Eick previewed some season 4 secrets, along with creature effects master Todd Masters. According to David Eick, season 4 was inspired by “The Empire Strikes Back”. Separation will be the theme for season 4 with the 2nd mass and family members separated trying desperately to reunite.
In the season 4 preview trailer below, several things are revealed about the Mason family and where they end up. Matt appears to be in a military style school for youth, brainwashing them with alien propaganda. Ben appears to be in a ‘perfect community’ where everything is great and the the Espheni are not enemies in the peoples minds.
Todd Masters along with puppeteer Keith Arbuthnot and actor Doug Jones, spoke about the complex nature of acting in a skitter suit and a full body Volm suit. Not many people would be willing to have so much on their face and be in such confined space but Doug Jones is use to it. He is well known for the other worldly creatures he has played. Doug also teased that while we will not see Cochise right away this season, he will show up at some point.
Keith is a real trooper. Every season he is inside the skitter suit acting in a scene wearing that outfit and it’s not an easy job. Each skitter head has many moving parts in it that are controlled by a third party that he must act around to make it feel seamless. Checkout this behind the magic video where they talk about all the work that goes into our 2 main aliens.
What can we expect from season 4? With David Eick at the helm, we can expect everything to be turned upside-down, but in a good way. For starters season 4 has 12 episodes, rather than the normal 10. That allows for the writers to flesh out the story arcs and characters more without having to rush through things. David teased that while he is new to the show, they have a crew that has worked through most of the seasons and a new writing staff which makes for a perfect combination on set. What is the Volms end game? Eick teased that other than a small group of fighters, the Volm have all but abandoned humanity.
Todd Masters said that he is “up to his neck in new aliens”. That means we can expect more out of this world tech and creatures but combined with that a larger, more complex story begins to emerge that expands the conflict to levels that nobody had even begun to understand.
For more behind the scenes information that was presented at NYCC this weekend, checkout Meredith Jacob’s coverage of Falling Skies: The Magic Behind the Series panel.
