The alien invasion movie is not a new idea. Only the expression of that idea can change. Invasion, the new television series does just that by expanding the reach of its characters across the globe. Co-creator Simon Kinberg (Logan, The Twilight Zone, and several X-Men films) spoke to Creative Writing Magazine about this exciting project.

Invasion spans four continents and set in places as far reaching as London, Tokyo, Long Island, Oklahoma. The opening scenes are set in Syria and Afghanistan to give the TV series a distinct global, and not just confined to the west, flavor. The main characters span an even greater breadth – a rural sheriff, a homesick soldier, a bullied kid, and a Japanese aerospace technician. Kinberg started by explaining the creative choices required to capture the wide scope of Invasion.

Simon Kinberg and co-creator David Weil (Hunters, Solos) insisted on making a television spectacle which examined the different (and similar) ways vastly differing people respond to the global event of an alien invasion. This sets it apart from many alien movies which are typically set in North America.

Simon Kinberg

Kinberg is no stranger to big-budget spectacular movies. He’s also wisely aware that a deluge of visual effects can’t compensate for mediocre storytelling. “I want Invasion to feel global, real, emotional and nuanced as possible. I wanted the drama to lead the show and the alien invasion to be an accelerant to it, as opposed to the other way around,” he declared.

He is also cognizant of the parallels that will invariably be drawn between Invasion and other alien invasion movies.”When I pitched Invasion to Apple, I told them it was War Of The Worlds somehow mashed up with Babel.” Kinberg and Weil merged the hyper-realistic drama of Babel with the breathtaking vision of War Of The Worlds. “The film that comes closest to Invasion is Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters Of The Third Kind,” he added.

In order for the character drama to play out, the writers tapped into their emotional state.

“I wanted Invasion to play on all these different peoples’ insecurities, anxieties, and emotional dramas they were going through. I also wanted to make it feel culturally specific,” expanded Kinberg.

They equally tapped into both the cultural specificities and differences between Japan, London, and Long Island. “The culture of Long Island, as it plays out in Invasion, is more alarmist given that it’s generally considered to be a safe suburban enclave.”

The characters in London were mainly children. “It was more about them being kids than them being British,” he continued. “Interestingly, they were braver about the alien invasion [than their American counterparts] because they’re less set in their lives than adults.” This British flexibility contrasts sharply against the Japanese rigidity, specifically the science culture of JASA where Mitsuki works.

“Despite these differences, everyone is dealing with a certain crisis in their lives. All these characters are feeling alienated or outsiders in their lives.”

The alien invasion becomes the centerpiece of their crises and it magnifies them “forcing the characters to examine their fears and the most hidden parts of themselves. Crisis and trauma does that to people,” mused Kinberg.

Despite Invasion not being specifically about a global pandemic, Kinberg draws parallels between the two. “Despite the cultural differences across the globe, the fear is consistent.” The social disconnect, isolation, and loss of control over their daily lives resonates among all the characters.

David Weil

The character choice was also well-thought out. Primarily, Kinberg and Weil wanted them to be as diverse as possible, beyond their typical nationality and sexuality. “I wanted them to be diverse in terms of where they are in their lives.”

Sheriff Jim Bell Tyson (Sam Neill) is a weathered Midwestern, small-town lawman on the verge of retirement, reflecting on his life. Aneesha Malik (Golshifteh Farahani) is a first-generation Syrian immigrant and former medical student. Trevante Ward (Shamier Anderson) is an American Navy Seal stationed in Afghanistan, who is concealing a grief that threatens to destroy him. Mitsuki Yamato (Shioli Kutsana) is a steely eyed mission control scientist at Japan’s space program JASA who is hiding a secret love affair with Hinata Murai, an astronaut preparing for a mission. Casper Morrow (Billy Barratt) is a timid 12-year-old boy with epilepsy, who is bullied and teased for his seizures. The breadth of ages and life experiences was instrumental in constructing the texture of the TV series.

Kinberg and Weil wove these character contrasts into the fabric of the TV show. “I chose an expert in science as well as a family who knew nothing about science,” said Kinberg. “I chose a cop who knew about mystery, but had no idea about science, and I chose a soldier who could handle himself in battle, but not something threatening humanity’s existence.”

The child characters were inspired by Lord Of The Flies.”The children aren’t battling the aliens so much. They’re really battling one another to create their own hierarchy in society.”

The Opening Scenes

Every alien invasion movie must have an alien invasion at its core by definition. The audiences demands it, and in some respects, pays less attention to the opening scenes until the invasion happens – ostensibly the real start of the film.

Invasion had a lot of global world building and character introductions to execute before it could even think about an alien invasion. There is a delicate balancing act between setting up the show for the audience and losing them to too much exposition. The opening scenes anchor the characters, but can’t possibly prepare them for what is about to come. They are deliberately unremarkable in nature to ease the audience into Invasion.

Trevante Ward (Shamier Anderson)

Mitsuki makes dinner for her lover in Japan and a Sheriff Tyson in Oklahoma rises for his last day on the job. In Afghanistan, Trevante, a soldier awaits orders. In London, 12-year old Casper packs his sketchbook into his backpack before heading out on an excursion, and in a suburb outside New York City, Aneesha, a mother takes her children to school. All these are undeniably relatable and common activities which invite the audience in.

“For me, the show lives and dies on the audience connecting with, relating to, and caring about the characters. That is the weekly buy-in and reason to watch.” Kinberg hopes the audience likes and cares enough about the characters to survive the invasion and put their lives back together. Based on these character arcs, the show could conceivably be This Is Us or some other emotional TV drama.

Mitsuki (Shioli Kutsana)

“I watch Gray’s Anatomy and E.R. for the characters, not because I understand the medical jargon,” continued Kinberg. That said, Kinberg is aware that a sizable proportion of the audience tunes in for the science-fiction. “You need to tease enough of the mystery so the audience gets drawn into it.” Kinberg cites LOST as a TV show that successfully balanced drama with sci-fi and influenced the structural template of Invasion. “It’s a real slow burn to make the audience guess, twist, confuse, conflate the elements of the show.“