Mortal Engines trailer: The first footage from Peter Jackson's fantasy movie has finally landed

London on wheels

Ever since the third instalment of The Hobbit debuted in 2014, Peter Jackson has been remarkably absent from cinemas. Next Christmas, though, he will finally return with Mortal Engines.

Jackson has written and produced the adaptation of Phillip Reeve’s novel, with Christian Rivers — who acted as visual effects supervisor on Lord of the Rings, splinter unit director on The Hobbit, and has storyboarded every Jackson film since Braindead — directing.

The first trailer for the fantasy adventure has been released, showing the great mobile cities that characterised the novel.

Reeve's Mortal Engines series focuses on a steampunk version of London, the city mounted on a monstrous machine which rolls across the landscape in search of the planet's dwindling resources.

The cast includes Lord of the Rings alumni Hugo Weaving, along with Stephen Lang, Robert Sheehan, and Hera Hilmar starring.

The official synopses reads: "Thousands of years after civilization was destroyed by a cataclysmic event, humankind has adapted and a new way of living has evolved. Gigantic moving cities now roam the Earth, ruthlessly preying upon smaller traction towns. Tom Natsworthy (Robert Sheehan)— who hails from a Lower Tier of the great traction city of London — finds himself fighting for his own survival after he encounters the dangerous fugitive Hester Shaw (Hera Hilmar). Two opposites, whose paths should never have crossed, forge an unlikely alliance that is destined to change the course of the future."

After announcing Mortal Engines, Jackson said: "Christian is one of my closest collaborators. The combination of emotion and jaw-dropping visuals in Mortal Engines makes this the perfect movie for his move into feature directing.

“What Christian intends to do with Philip Reeve’s terrific story is going to result in an original and spectacular movie. I wish I could see it tomorrow!”

Mortal Engines reaches cinemas 14 December 2018.