After three seasons of adventures across the solar system on Syfy,
The Expanse is now entering unexplored territory as it moves to Amazon Studios for its fourth season. The critically acclaimed show ended its third season with an epic finale in which Holden's actions to save humanity from itself and the Ring led to 1300 other ring portals appearing to humanity.
Showrunner Naren Shankar notes that humans have defined themselves as a species that has only ever had the solar system. This however changes at the end of season 3 and humans now have access to 1300 potential habitable systems. As Holden notes in the final moments of the finale, this will lead to "another blood-soaked gold rush" as mankind wages a new war over resources, one which may destabilize Earth, Mars, and the Belt.
Thanks to some exclusive concept art from Entertainment Weekly, we have our first look at the planet Ilus from season 4. The upcoming season will adapt the fourth of
The Expanse novels,
Cibola Burn, which largely took place on
Ilus. This planet, which resides in one of the new inhabitable systems, is described as "
the battleground of new settlers, security forces and the protomolecule in The Expanse Season 4."
The story of
Cibola Burn on Ilus is often described as feeling like a Western, and Shankar noted that they are currently in the process of scouting locations for the alien world. Shankar hopes that the locales they choose will really provide a sense of previously unexplored territory for the show and highlight the unfamiliar environment and nature that people might encounter:
The story of Ilus is a classic Western in many ways. In the book, it reads like southwestern desert. It’s rugged, it’s a frontier, it’s a remote place. We keep talking about how the first European ships that came to Australia must have felt when they landed on that continent. We’re right in the process of scouting where we’re going to shoot this, and so wherever we end up shooting it, that’s what we’re really going for, is that sense of feeling like you’re truly in new territory that hasn’t set up —basically where persons have not been to before. Along with that, there’s not knowing how the biology and the flora and fauna are going to treat you. How is your body is going to react to these places where there are things that you never experienced before?
Are you excited for season 4 of
The Expanse? Be sure to share your thoughts below!