Secret Level
Secret Level | |
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Genre | |
Created by | Tim Miller |
Directed by | Dave Wilson |
Creative director | Jerome Denjean |
Music by |
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Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 15 |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producers |
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Editors |
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Production companies | |
Original release | |
Network | Amazon Prime Video |
Release | December 10, 2024 present | –
Secret Level is an animated anthology series created by Tim Miller for Amazon Prime Video. It is produced by his Blur Studio with Amazon MGM Studios. Dave Wilson executive produces and serves as supervising director. It consists of fifteen stories set in the worlds of different video games. The voice cast includes Arnold Schwarzenegger, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Kevin Hart, Laura Bailey, Heaven Hart, Keanu Reeves, Gabriel Luna, Ariana Greenblatt, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Michael Beach, Emily Swallow, and Claudia Doumit.
The series was ordered by Amazon in August 2024 and was first revealed at Gamescom that month. Its first eight episodes were released worldwide on December 10, 2024, with the remaining seven episodes released on December 17, 2024. It received mixed reviews from critics. The Pac-Man episode served as promotion for the upcoming game, Shadow Labyrinth. In December 2024, the series was renewed for a second season.
Premise
[edit]The series consists of fifteen animated, standalone short stories based on the following video games and franchises:[1][2][3][4]
Episodes
[edit]No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Animation studio | Original release date | Prod. code | ||
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1 | "Dungeons & Dragons: The Queen's Cradle" | Maxime Luère, Léon Bérelle, Dominique Boidin, Rémi Kozyra | K. D. Davila and Levin Menekse
Short Story by: Brooke Bolander | Unit Image (from France) | December 10, 2024 | #ATRI 104 | ||
Solon is taunted by an overbearing voice and rescued by Mora, Tally, Luzum and Ahokal. Mora takes him to a dragon, Oriel, as an army approaches the stronghold. Oriel absorbs the voice from Solon while the other three defeat the army. Oriel is tainted by the voice and dies as Tiamat emerges from his body. The four warriors team up with Solon, who now has holy powers, to battle Tiamat. Cast : Noah Manzoor as Solon, Madeleine Knight as Mora, Laura Wohlwend as Tally, Delroy Atkinson as Luzum, Umulisa Gahiga as Ahokal, Paul Ridley as Oriel, Rita Estevanovich and Tracy Wiles as Tiamat | ||||||||
2 | "Sifu: It Takes a Life" | László Ruska | Rich Larson
Short Story by: Rich Larson | Digic Pictures (from Hungary) | December 10, 2024 | #ATRI 108 | ||
A young man, MC, talks to a street vendor before seeing Sean enter The Club, one of the people that killed his father and killed him. The main character enters The Club looking for Sean and fights his way through many goons. Some of them manage to kill him, however the main character has the ability to come back to life at the cost of his age. By the time he reaches Sean to fulfill his revenge, he has aged beyond Sean's recognition. The main character returns to the street vendor, presumably after killing Sean after multiple tries as shown by his elderly appearance. The vendor initially thinks he is the main character's grandfather before realizing it is actually him. Cast : Parry Shen as MC (young), Ping Wu as MC (old), Lydia Look as Li, Nelson Lee as Sean, Feodor Chin as Thug, Rae Lim as MC (child). | ||||||||
3 | "New World: The Once and Future King" | Maxime Luère, Léon Bérelle, Dominique Boidin, Rémi Kozyra | Teleplay by : J. T. Petty and Philip Gelatt | Unit Image (from France) | December 10, 2024 | #ATRI 118 | ||
King Aelstrom and his army sail to the island of Aeternum to conquer it, however their ship is destroyed in a storm leaving no survivors except Aelstrom and his advisor Scaevola, an amputee missing an arm. They realize that they can neither leave the island nor die. Aelstrom challenges the island's ruler, King Zima, multiple times for the throne, losing every time. When Scaevola admits that Aelstrom was a terrible king, Aelstrom abandons him and, upon obtaining magical armor and weaponry, challenges Zima again, only to still be defeated. Bored of Aelstrom's efforts to overthrow him, Zima simply hands him his crown. Aelstrom runs away to wear it, only to realize that he is all alone. He seeks help from a local merchant to learn blacksmithing. After time passes, Aelstrom reconciles with Scaevola, gifting him a prosthetic arm made from the crown. Cast : Arnold Schwarzenegger as King Aelstrom, Steven Pacey as Scaevola, Gabriel Luna as King Zimah, Arazou as Urda, Dana Haqjoo as Zimah's aide, Carlo Rota as Sorcerer. | ||||||||
4 | "Unreal Tournament: Xan" | Franck Balson | Justin Rhodes | Blur Studio (from the United States) | December 10, 2024 | #ATRI 102 | ||
A mining robot gains sentience and realizes that its human masters abuse robots and view them as expendable. Furious, the robot takes control of the other robots and kills their human masters. All the mining robots are arrested and forced to compete in public gladiatorial combat as a message against rebellion. Watching the fights, the sentient robot learns fighting tactics and wins its own fight. This continues, with the robot putting together a string of victories, gaining the name XAN and the approval of the masses. In an effort to learn why all the fighters are losing to a mining robot, the Gamemaster gets one of her technicians to study one of the robots while she sends her Necris Captain and his soldiers to personally fight XAN. Realizing this plan, XAN uploads itself into the robot being studied by the technician, gaining control of the stadium itself, and defeats the Captain. The Gamemaster enters the stadium with her guards to personally oversee XAN's execution, only for XAN to use its control to kill the guards and start a rebellion with the support of the audience. Cast : Elodie Yung as The Gamemaster, Gideon Emery as Necris Captain, Mitch Eakins as Dean, Chris Payne Gilbert as Parker, Carlin James as Liandri Technician, Fred Tatasciore as Arena Announcer | ||||||||
5 | "Warhammer 40,000: And They Shall Know No Fear" | Dave Wilson | J. T. Petty and Justin Rhodes | Blur Studio (from the United States) | December 10, 2024 | #ATRI 101 | ||
Sergeant Metaurus acknowledges briefing of a mission to destroy a relic before donning his power armour, and reflects that he had recruited a youth who knew no fear, rather than needing it trained out of him to become a Space Marine. He and his squad, who includes Lieutenant Titus drop to a planet and confront Chaos cultists, dragging a stone sarcophagus. They eventually reach the relic, a statue, and a psyker exits the sarcophagus to provide them a psychic force field. Unfortunately, a sorcerer flanks them, killing their psyker and freezing time, killing each of the four marines one by one, implied by feeding on their deepest fears. It reaches Metaurus, and shows Titus becoming corrupted into a Chaos Marine, and he falls. The sorcerer, however, is unable to get a foothold in Titus's mind, who instead breaks free and kills the Sorcerer. He is able to make contact with their ship to call in an orbital strike and drags Metaurus out. Metaurus, resigned to his fate, says their duty is done, but Titus disagrees, facing an oncoming horde. Cast : Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Bladeguard Sergeant Metaurus, Clive Standen as Lieutenant Titus, Ben Plessala as Young Titus, Mark Sheppard as Astropath and Ultramarines Orbital Command, Alexa Kahn as Sorcerer of Tzeentch | ||||||||
6 | "PAC-MAN: Circle" | Victor Maldonado & Alfredo Torres | Teleplay by : J. T. Petty | Illusorium (from Spain) | December 10, 2024 | #ATRI 115 | ||
A humanoid creature with no memories awakens in an underground complex. He is greeted by a floating yellow sphere, Puck, who tells him he is the "Chosen" who will escape the "maze": an alien world of dangerous flora, fauna and hungry ghosts. At Puck's urging, he takes up a sword and "practices" for his role, killing and eating other life. When the swordsman fails to defeat the final guardian at the exit, Puck "eats" him, gaining the power to defeat the guardian. Realizing Puck is the one who is trapped and needs his body to escape, the swordsman rips Puck out of him and dies. Puck returns to the underground complex and awakens a new "Chosen". Cast : Emily Swallow as Puck, Aleks Le as Swordsman ("The Chosen") | ||||||||
7 | "Crossfire: Good Conflict" | Damian Nenow | Philip Gelatt
Short Story by: Russ Linton | Platige Image (from Poland) | December 10, 2024 | #ATRI 112 | ||
Two groups of armed soldiers hunker down in an abandoned city. One group is protecting a civilian, handcuffed to a briefcase and continually asking to ensure his protection, and the other group is hunting for the briefcase. The storm blows away tarps covering the building, revealing the mercenaries, while the other forces are readied to intercept. The mercenaries split into cars, while Global Risk give chase in armored vehicles. Their sniper is able to identify the briefcase on thermal vision, and they box the mercenaries under an overpass. A firefight ensues, and the mercenaries are able to flee with the use of white phosphorus to mask their heat signatures. The briefcase in the vehicle is revealed to be a dummy, while the real briefcase is in another vehicle. Deducing its most likely escape route, Global Risk is able to give chase, eventually leading to a sea port, where one of the mercenaries is gunned down. The man cuffed to the briefcase flees, while a mercenary goes to exact revenge. Eventually, a mercenary finds the man, and is confronted by a Global Risk operator, but ends up giving up the briefcase, reiterating they're not the bad guys. The two remaining mercenaries drop off the man at the border despite his protests, and the Global Risk operators return to their base of operations, briefcase in hand. Cast : Ricky Whittle as Cross, Claudia Doumit as Layla, Samuel Roukin as Fitz, Matt Peters as Mahler, Jessica Camacho as Cabrera, Jake Matthews as Mason, Aidan Bristow as Jeffrey, Alex Jai as Unaffiliated Mercenary Driver and Global Risk Operator, Piotr Michael as Global Risk Sniper | ||||||||
8 | "Armored Core: Asset Management" | Dave Wilson | Teleplay by : J. T. Petty
Short Story by: Peter Watts | Digic Pictures (from Hungary) | December 10, 2024 | #ATRI 117 | ||
An augmented core pilot is drinking at a bar. He communicates with an AI augment implanted in his brain, who tells him he needs someone to talk with, before alerting him to an incoming job. He suits up in a large mechanical suit and engages two other core pilots. He and the AI discuss the other pilots' remarkable synchronicity as he disables both mechs before continuing towards the target. He engages three more pilots, who are also incredibly skilled; he disables the heavy mech with a surprise attack and barely destroys the others by collapsing a tunnel. The pilot reaches his target, but is surprised to find a lab similar to the one where he was augmented. The AI realizes that the target was the other pilots, who are augmented like the pilot even though the technology was supposed to have been lost, and believes that the other pilots were not trying to kill them. The final enemy pilot asks for assistance, but the pilot crushes his skull with his mech, insisting that "no one is like me." Cast : Keanu Reeves as Pilot, Erin Yvette as The Voice, Temuera Morrison as Old Salt, Patrick Schwarzenegger as The Kid, Steve Blum as Dispatch and Mechanic | ||||||||
9 | "The Outer Worlds: The Company We Keep" | Bengt-Anton Runsten | Teleplay by : Heather Anne Campbell
Short Story by: Siobhan Carroll | Goodbye Kansas Studios (from Sweden) | December 17, 2024 | #ATRI 111 | ||
Cast : Brenock O'Connor as Amos, Raffey Cassidy as Felicity Karo, Fenella Woolgar as Dr. Langdon, Nicholas A. Newman as Street Advisor, Joanne Henry as Interviewer, Jamie Treacher as Chairman Courtright | ||||||||
10 | "Mega Man: Start" | Alex Beaty | Jeff Juhasz | Illusorium (from Spain) | December 17, 2024 | #ATRI 107 | ||
In Mega City, the robotic creations of Dr. Light have been reprogrammed by Dr. Wily, sending the robots to destroy the city instead of protecting it. Rock, a humanoid creation of Light's, voices his desire to help fight, but the doctor refuses and prepares to send out Bomb Man to defeat the others. As Bomb Man boots up, one of Wily's drones hijacks him, turning him against Light and Rock. An explosion severs Rock's left hand, but he spots an ice canister and attaches it to himself. He freezes Bomb Man's projectile to his hand, which explodes and destroys the robot. Another drone attempts to infect Rock, but Rock resists and manages to destroy it. Moved by his genuine intentions and innocence, Light agrees to let Rock fight, upgrading him with new combat armor before teleporting him to Mega City to stop the rampaging robots. Cast : Alkaio Thiele as Rock, Rick Overton as Dr. Light, Bridget Oberlin as News Anchor 1, Brad Abrell as News Anchor 2 | ||||||||
11 | "Exodus: Odyssey" | Alex Beaty | Tim Miller | Blur Studio (from the United States) | December 17, 2024 | TBA | ||
Nik Hanson is a mechanic on the recently colonized ice world Lidon. Yearning for more, his daughter Mari runs away with Rafael to explore the galaxy and search for priceless artifacts. Having lost his wife, Nik desperately follows clues in search of her and utilizes warp gates that accelerate his ship to near light speed. Due to time dilation, his decade-long journey means several decades have passed for Mari. He reaches a point where Mari, Rafael, and their crew stole from an alien empire called the Celestials and were fleeing them. Nik becomes a servant to the Celestials, and in their pursuit, Nick is eventually able to catch up with Mari, who is now older than him. Nick steals a ship and escapes the Celestials with Mari, who gives him a map to more artifacts before finally passing away. Nik returns to Lidon and returns an artifact to make the planet more hospitable to Kara Voss, granddaughter of Thadie, who initially lent Nik the means to chase after his daughter. Despite the value of the artifact, Nik insists on leaving without payment, setting off in search of more artifacts in the memory of his daughter. Cast : Nikko Austin Smith as Mari Hanson, Michael Beach as Nik Hanson, Lily Cowles as Kara Voss, Christopher Sean as Rafael Sabatine, Courtenay Taylor as Thadie Voss, Paul Nakauchi as Luca Sabatine | ||||||||
12 | "Spelunky: Tally" | Emily Dean | Teleplay by : Tamsyn Muir
Short Story by: Tamsyn Muir | Illusorium (from Spain) | December 17, 2024 | TBA | ||
Ana Spelunky is a young adventurer, fleeing from a large mole like creature. She leaps across a gap over a pit of spikes, but narrowly misses the other ledge, falling to her death. She awakens in a cavern, to be greeted by an older adventurer, Liz Mutton, who consoles her. Ana resolves to run again, brushing off her death and resurrection with aplomb. However, after more deaths and resurrections, Ana eventually grows despondent. Liz points out tallies, marking her own countless deaths and revivals, and points out that there's so much beauty in each different "run", and the memories that remain, inspiring Ana to run again. Cast : Ariana Greenblatt as Ana Spelunky, Merle Dandridge as Liz Mutton | ||||||||
13 | "Concord: Tale of the Implacable" | Patrick Osborne | Teleplay by : J. T. Petty and Christian Taylor
Short Story by: Rachael K. Jones | Axis Studios (from Scotland) | December 17, 2024 | TBA | ||
Cast : Leah Harvey as Cassidy Taimak, Arthur Lee as Kai, Max Rinehart as Julius, Dimitri Abold as Rade, Rachel Handshaw as Sladie, Laura Bailey as Smokes, Louis Martin as Callosian Officer, Derek Phillips as Lennox, Kerry Gutierrez as Spitz, Darin De Paul as Bartender / Narrator, Clay Savage as Guild Security Officer 1, William Calvert as Guild Security Officer 2 | ||||||||
14 | "Honor of Kings: The Way of All Things" | Csaba Vicze | Teleplay by : J. T. Petty
Short Story by: S. L. Huang | Digic Pictures (from Hungary) | December 17, 2024 | TBA | ||
Cast : Aleks Le as Yi Xing, Nelson Lee as Tiangong, Victor Chao as Mad Beggar, Joy Osmanski as Yi Xing's Mother, Lee Shorten as Yi Xing's Father | ||||||||
15 | "Playtime: Fulfillment" | Istvan Zorkoczy | Teleplay by : J. T. Petty
Short Story by: Rich Larson | Digic Pictures (from Hungary) | December 17, 2024 | TBA | ||
Cast : Heaven Hart as O, Kevin Hart as Buddibot, Jonny Cruz as Johnny, Christopher Judge as Kratos, Andrew Morgado as Helldiver, Fred Tatasciore as Helldiver, Mara Junot as Helldiver |
Production
[edit]Secret Level was created by Tim Miller, who executive produces at his company Blur Studio. Blur Studio serves as a production company along with Amazon MGM Studios. Dave Wilson serves as executive producer and supervising director. The series was ordered by Amazon Prime Video on August 14, 2024.[5]
After production but before series release, Concord had come out but was pulled from sale within two weeks by Sony due to low sales and player counts. Miller stated that they did not consider pulling the Concord episode, in part to respect the work that had already been put into it, and that some of the other episodes featured games that had yet to be released.[6]
On December 17, 2024, the series was renewed for a second season.[7]
Promotion
[edit]The series was announced during Gamescom on August 20, 2024. A trailer was released at the event, which featured segments from each of the episodes.[1][9]
The pilot who features in the Armored Core episode was the subject of media attention and speculation due to his resemblance to actor Keanu Reeves.[10][11] Though Prime Video declined to disclose casting information at the time of the announcement, ComicBook.com reported an influx of "nearly nothing but replies about Reeves and his potential appearance in [the series]" under a post by Armored Core's social media account.[12] IGN's Wesley Yin-Poole said that were it not really Reeves, the actor could claim a royalty payment due to the certainty of the character's likeness to his.[13] GamesRadar+'s Ali Jones remarked that while the shot could have been "simply be an ethnically ambiguous man with similar facial hair", they noted the likeness, and doubted that Armored Core would place the image so prominently on their social media account if it were "just some random actor" and not Reeves.[14]
In October 2024 Reeves's casting was officially revealed alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Kevin Hart, Heaven Hart, Gabriel Luna, Ariana Greenblatt, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Michael Beach, Emily Swallow, and Claudia Doumit.[8]
A video game that continues the story of the Pac-Man episode, titled Shadow Labyrinth, is scheduled for release in 2025.[15]
Release
[edit]The series premiered its first part worldwide on December 10, 2024.[16] with a second part releasing on December 17, 2024.[8]
Reception
[edit]On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Secret Level has an approval rating of 69% based on 16 reviews, with an average rating of 6.1/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Secret Level's melange of video game shorts can't help but feel like a glorified sizzle reel, but these vignettes pack a mean punch in small doses."[17] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 53 out of 100 based on nine critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[18] Steven Nguyen Scaife of IGN said the show "struggles to find satisfying stories for a short-form anthology" in a 5/10 review and felt dissatisfied by the selection of the source material.[19] Aramide Tinubu of Variety wrote that "the show acts as poorly written AI summaries of massive tales".[20]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Martin, Cole (August 20, 2024). "Love, Death & Robots creator reveals new gaming-themed anthology series for Prime Video during Gamescom Opening Night Live". Windows Central. Future plc. Archived from the original on August 21, 2024. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- ^ Higham, Michael (August 20, 2024). "Amazon Series Secret Level Reveals Animated Stories For God Of War, Sifu, Warhammer And More". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (August 20, 2024). "Prime Video's Animated Anthology Series Secret Level Reveals Full List Of Featured Games, Including Pac-Man & D&D, Gets Premiere Date & Teaser". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
- ^ Tassi, Paul (August 21, 2024). "A List Of Every Game Featured In Amazon's Promising Secret Level Show". Forbes. Integrated Whale Media Investments. Archived from the original on August 21, 2024. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (August 14, 2024). "Prime Video Orders Animated Video Game Anthology Series Secret Level From Love, Death & Robots Creator". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on August 19, 2024. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- ^ Maas, Jennifer (December 10, 2024). "Amazon's 'Secret Level' Bosses Talk 'Troubling' 'Pac-Man' Concept and Why They Didn't Scrap Episode Based on Canceled Game 'Concord'". Variety. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
- ^ Cordero, Rosy (December 17, 2024). "Secret Level Renewed For Season 2 At Prime Video". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
- ^ a b c Gonzalez, Umberto (19 October 2024). "Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kevin Hart, Keanu Reeves Join Prime Video's Adult Animated Show 'Secret Level'". The Wrap. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ Schedeen, Jesse (August 21, 2024). "Secret Level: Every Video Game In The New Gamescom Trailer". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on August 21, 2024. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- ^ Gach, Ethan (August 20, 2024). "It Sure Looks Like Keanu Reeves Is Starring In An Armored Core Short Film For Amazon". Kotaku. G/O Media. Archived from the original on August 21, 2024. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- ^ Barder, Ollie (August 21, 2024). "New Anthology Series Secret Level Will Feature Armored Core". Forbes. Integrated Whale Media Investments. Archived from the original on August 21, 2024. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- ^ Moore, Logan (August 20, 2024). "Is Keanu Reeves in Secret Level's Armored Core Episode?". ComicBook.com. Savage Ventures. Archived from the original on August 21, 2024. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (August 21, 2024). "It Looks Like Keanu Reeves Is in Amazon's Armored Core Animation". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on August 21, 2024. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- ^ Jones, Ali (August 20, 2024). "I think Keanu Reeves is in the new Armored Core adaptation, and I can't believe no one's saying anything about it". GamesRadar+. Future plc. Archived from the original on August 21, 2024. Retrieved August 22, 2024.
- ^ Bailey, Kat (December 13, 2024). "Secret Level Pac-Man Episode Is Getting Turned Into a Metroidvania With Katsuhiro Harada Producing". IGN. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
- ^ Seitz, Loree (August 20, 2024). "Video Game-Inspired Secret Level Anthology Series Gets December Premiere Date on Prime Video". TheWrap. Archived from the original on August 22, 2024. Retrieved August 22, 2024.
- ^ "Secret Level: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
- ^ "Secret Level: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
- ^ Nguyen Scaife, Steven (December 5, 2024). "Secret Review". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
- ^ Tinubu, Aramide (December 10, 2024). "Prime Video's Video Game Anthology 'Secret Level' Is an Uninspired Snooze: TV Review". Variety (magazine). Retrieved December 11, 2024.
External links
[edit]- Secret Level at IMDb
- 2020s American adult animated television series
- 2020s American animated television series
- 2020s American anthology television series
- American adult animation anthology series
- American adult computer-animated television series
- American anime-influenced animated television series
- American English-language television shows
- Amazon Prime Video original programming
- Animated series based on video games
- Science fiction anthology television series
- Television series by Amazon Animation Studios
- Television series by Amazon MGM Studios
- Television series created by Tim Miller (director)
- 2024 American television series debuts
- Works based on Sony Interactive Entertainment video games