Sci-fi wargame Infinity is being adapted into an animated series by DC animation director Jay Oliva, the man behind nine DC films including both parts of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. It turns out Oliva is an “avid player” of Infinity, a miniature wargame like Warhammer 40k, set in a high-tech sci-fi future.
In a joint press release, Oliva describes what makes him a fan of the game: “Most tabletop games are either big armies”, like Warhammer 40k, “or smaller models”, “but Infinity is more like a skirmish game with tons of terrain, like you’re playing on a little diorama”. He says “That visual side really drew me to the game and inspired the animation”.
Infinity is set during a cold war between human and posthuman factions, connected by a tenuous interstellar community, and threatened by an alien hegemony that’s steadily encroaching into human space. Gameplay involves small teams of spec-ops troops fighting in dense warzones with a mix of conventional tech and sci-fi superweapons.
“There’s a cyberpunk aspect”, Oliva says, “but also a very Ghost in the Shell feel with holograms and futuristic weaponry”. He adds that “the influences include Dune and some classic sci-fi”. Happily, that’s “translated very easily to animation”.
The new series, ‘Infinity: Paradise Lost’, was shown off to industry insiders in France at the Annecy Film Festival in June. The team behind it are now in discussions with potential distributors.
Infinity and animation fans will have a chance to learn more about the series, see more footage, and snag an exclusive miniature of one of the show’s protagonists, at San Diego Comic-Con on July 27, at 10 am in Room 6A.
Oliva will be there, as well as voice actors Zehra Fazal (Young Justice, Halo Infinite, Starfield) and Jason Spisak (Arcane, Batman: Hush), for a panel discussion.
By our best estimate, this makes Infinity the third miniature wargame to receive a professional animated series. The Battletech animation from 1994 is gloriously retro and camp, while the Warhammer+ streaming service has a modest but growing number of animations about Space Marines and other Warhammer 40k factions.
Whichever streaming service this emerges on, we’ll be watching. If you’re twitchy for more great sci-fi short films and animations, we’ve got two recommendations: Project Morningstar is a gritty little piece of grimdark war fiction; and every minifilm in the anthology series A Thousand Suns is a short sharp shock of genius.
Source: Wargamer
