As part of DC FanDome 2021, HBO Max has released the first collection of images from its upcoming miniseries DMZ, which highlight Rosario Dawson in the lead role.
The pictures take audiences eight years into the second American civil war, where the island of Manhattan has become a lawless, demilitarized zone between the United States and Free States of America. Alma, (portrayed by Dawson), a medic, comes to the DMZ to try and help, becoming an unlikely symbol of hope for the people living there. The images follow Alma as she navigates Manhattan and runs into other survivors in the borough, including populist leader Parco Delgado (Benjamin Bratt) and gang boss Wilson (Hoon Lee).
DMZ writer Roberto Patino and director/executive producer Ava DuVernay were present at FanDome to preview the show, which is based on the Vertigo Comics series by Brian Wood and Riccardo Burchielli. Patino said that the character of Alma was inspired by "one of the most fascinating characters in the comic book, and also one of the most under-served characters in the comic book," Zee Hernandez.
"I really took the creative guardrails off and dove into the spirit of Zee and reinvented her," he explained. "This show is a bit of an origin story for one of the best characters in the graphic novel. She comes out the other side with a whole new understanding of what her place in this world ought to be."
Patino and DuVernay also discussed the characters of Parco and Wilson as they exemplify two different power players in the DMZ. According to Patino, "Parco Delgado is this guy who said 'You know what? I am the law. I am the power here. And who I am and what I say I am? No one's gonna challenge me on that if I say it with enough resolve.'" Wilson, conversely, "is about the opposite side of that. 'Everyone gets to make truly free choices in the DMZ. They get to decide who they want to be.' And the result of that is this patchwork of gangs and tribes and outfits, and Wilson sees that as a marvel."
The pair closed the presentation by describing what drew her to DMZ. "It is set in a world that's just a few moments into the future," DuVernay said. "And it speculates what would we be if we let the worst of our divisions get to us. I just think it's super cool. It's also important in ways that allow us to consider ourselves now and what we want to be going forward."
DMZ does not yet have a release date. It will premiere on HBO Max.
Source: DC FanDome 2021