The latest teaser trailer for Amazon Prime’s upcoming Carnival Row takes viewers into a Victorian fantasy. The the series stars Orland Bloom and Cara Delevingne, two actors who are familiar to fantasy worlds, having starred in The Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, Suicide Squad, and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets between them. With resumes like that it’s perhaps no wonder Amazon brought Bloom and Delevingne on board the ambitious-looking fantasy series.
The series itself marks a change in Amazon’s way of doing things, as the streamer looks to find the next Game of Thrones by seeking out as many high concept, fantasy, or science fiction projects as it can. And while Prime subscribers will have to wait a while before Jeff Bezoz’s enormous investment in The Lord of the Rings begins to pay off, they can busy themselves with the likes of Carnival Row, which looks a bit like Showtime’s Penny Dreadful crossed with Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, with just a bit of Harry Potter thrown in for good measure.
The latest teaser showcases the new series’ world building, welcoming viewers to Carnival Row in a video titled ‘Welcome to Carnival Row.’ It’s an effective bit of whimsy that blends some (iffy?) special effects with a train full of fantastical creatures. Check out the new teaser for Carnival Row, as well as a synopsis of the series, below:
“Orlando Bloom (Pirates of the Caribbean) and Cara Delevingne (Suicide Squad) star in Carnival Row, a series set in a Victorian fantasy world filled with mythological immigrant creatures whose exotic homelands were invaded by the empires of man. This growing population struggles to coexist with humans — forbidden to live, love, or fly with freedom. But even in darkness, hope lives, as a human detective, Rycroft Philostrate (Bloom), and a refugee faerie named Vignette Stonemoss (Delevingne) rekindle a dangerous affair despite an increasingly intolerant society. Vignette harbors a secret that endangers Philo’s world during his most important case yet: a string of gruesome murders threatening the uneasy peace of the Row.”
The show’s emphasis on style and atmosphere seems to be its biggest selling point, though Bloom and Delevingne will likely help generate interest in those who perhaps aren’t immediately excited by the prospect of a TV series that has quite a lot in common with Netflix’s Bright. At any rate, eager fans won’t have long to wait, as Carnival Row is expected at the end of August.
Carnival Row premieres on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, August 30.