First Look at "Johnny Thunder 4"!

By: Andrew Bermudez

(Mustache Maniacs Film Co. Headquarters; March 24, 2019)

     In addition to all of the re-releases that we have planned, we are still working on ways to bring more stories from the Johnny Thunder Saga and Project U to life! Here, covered for the first time ever, is an extensive look at Johnny Thunder and the Wonders Beneath the Waves! Let's "dive" in, shall we?

A Deep Sea Adventure Like No Other

     While it is true that we are saving Dino Island for a later film (though I can't say any more on that film yet), this film is going to someplace that the Adventurers LEGO Sets never ventured to: underwater! After the tests of underwater effects in Wonders of Buoyancy and Johnny Thunder and the Wisdom of the Ancients, we're going all out with an almost all-underwater story for this film! The setting is just off the coast of the island of Bermuda, where the Adventurers have been summoned by Prof. Samantha Rhodes and Dr. Jeff Fisher to investigate legends of colonial treasure at the bottom of the ocean, caused by shipwrecks passing through the legendary Bermuda Triangle. But Lord Sinister, having hired a man named Mr. Cunningham, knows about the treasure as well, and will stop at nothing to take it for himself! It looks like it's going to be a typical adventure, but who is Mr. Cunningham's former employer, and why does he want the treasure for himself?

A Johnny Thunder Film NOT Based on the Adventurers Theme?

      It may sound far-fetched, but this is the first of our Johnny Thunder films to be based on a LEGO theme other than Adventurers. As you can see with the official product image of the Crab Crusher, this film is based on the 2007 Aqua Raiders LEGO sets, with many of its design choices and aesthetic designs considered when writing the script and designing the film's environments. This theme was chosen mainly because it actually performed well in our 2012 survey of favorite LEGO themes, with us lamenting at the time when the results came in:

"I really have no idea how we're going to execute an Aqua Raiders movie and make it more than just a group of nameless divers blowing up sea creatures and taking treasure."

As you can see, Johnny Thunder and Project U were our answers to that question, as so many details found in our other Johnny Thunder films bring the film's characters right to life, with Project U answering and establishing questions that will want fans to see all of our films in the official cinematic universe.

An Underwater, Atmospheric World

     Our past underwater effects were also more than just testing a way to create a swimming effect on-camera; we also used them to test different atmospheres and how they would look on film. For this film, we're taking the look of the Aqua Raiders box art and darkening it quite a bit, in order to create a sense of impending dread that awaits both the Adventurers and the villains that are hunting for this lost treasure. The concept sketch above is a quick illustration by Andrew Bermudez that shows how the entrance to the trench full of treasure will look on film. Here's a fun fact: The trench you see here was nick-named the Treasure Trench, named after a Flash game LEGO released online to promote the Aqua Raiders theme. 

Something Traditional and Modern Day

      While fans overwhelmingly love our Johnny Thunder films, many fans were disappointed that Johnny Thunder didn't wear his original black pants. We are fixing that with this film, but with a modern twist: the new Johnny Thunder will have the same pants as the Bandit Collectible Minifigure (complete with ammo sling) and his torso is now the double-sided version from The LEGO Movie, with his hat now being a slightly more reddish-brown. His face will remain the same. Harry Cane is also getting an upgrade, with him now sporting the same torso as the Pilot Collectible Minifigure and a dark brown helmet from the same minifigure. His face and legs are the same. One last thing: since there is no story explanation for these costume changes, these designs will be retroactively used in Johnny Thunder and the Secret of Marco Polo: The Adventure Retold!

New Characters and Some Screen Debuts!

     Of course, with this new setting, new characters had to fill the cast, such as Valscone, illustrated here in graphite and colored pencil. Originally, he was going to be a nasty one-off character who runs a diving store, but the producers felt that he was not only too unlikable, but he was also oddly rounded out for a character with so little screen time. His personality was toned down, and his design here has completely changed.

     Also featured here is Charlie Flagton, a character who was introduced in the Tales of the Adventurers comics, but is making his screen debut in this film. Here was his original dive suit design, but it has since changed into something more like his regular attire and more-or-less steampunk. In fact, if you love steampunk, you're going to love Charlie's own personal sub in this film!

     Other characters introduced in the film are Bobby Buoy and Axel Storm (from LEGO Atlantis), as well as the return of characters like Hiram Aziz, Lance Spears, Captain Ace Speedman (also appearing in one of our films for the first time, but first appeared in Tales of the Adventurers), Dr. Henrietta William, and Willie Pones, another original character.

Final Thoughts and Pressing Matters

     Now we address the long-awaited question on everyone's lips: When does it come out? Honestly, we don't know, but we can say this: It will be released after Alpha Team: Mission Deep City, as this film picks up on plot threads in that film. Also, bear with us in the creation of this film, as this film will push boundaries that we haven't really touched before. If you want a taste of the film, here's the teaser from the Third Fan Choice Awards.

Lead Out

     And that's all that we have for this film for the time being. We hope that you're all looking forward to this film, and we'll see you at the movies!

Next Time: Everything that we've announced and revealed so far about this summer's blockbuster, Pharaoh's Quest: The Curse of Amset-Ra!