David Tennant's Around the World in 80 Days debuts spectacular title sequence
The epic title sequence teases great things to come for the BBC's adaptation of Jules Verne's classic novel.
There is no shortage of reasons to get excited about the BBC's upcoming adaptation of Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 Days. David Tennant stars as adventurer Phileas Fogg, legendary composer Han Zimmer is on score duties and it's more than possible we'll get to see it before the New Year.
And now, RadioTimes.com can add an epic title sequence to that list.
Considering the time constraints of Fogg's globetrotting wager, it's no surprise the title sequence features a watch – and hints of the many lands Fogg and his companions will visit during their race to traverse the world in just over two months. And, of course, there's a superb score to boot.
The clock is ticking indeed.
The sequence was put together by Huge Designs and features a score by Zimmer and Christian Lundberg. "Between the energising score delivered by Hans Zimmer, Christian Lundberg and Russell Emanuel that gets your pulses racing; and the dazzlingly beautiful clock face, with its hints at moments from the series, created by Paul and the team at Huge Designs – we feel we have created an opening sequence that captures the beauty of our world and the excitement of the journey that our trio are undertaking," said Simon Crawford Collins, executive producer for Slim Film + Television. "We are so please to be sharing it with the public at last."
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Paul McDonnell, designer/director at Huge Designs, added: "We came on board the project relatively late in the production so we were able to watch a few episodes. We were also able to listen to Hans Zimmer & Christian Lundberg’s opening title score and that really helped give us inspiration and a rough skeleton of an idea.
"We wanted to drive home the idea of a race against time so we boiled that idea down to its simplest form. The goal was to compress the narrative into the mechanisms of a clock. We also tried to make it look as if this clock had a worn and weathered look as if this timepiece has been carried with the adventurers on their trip. The constant ticking of the score helped us transition between landscapes and also helped shift the scenes along. We felt that the slightly frantic feel to the sequence was right at home in the world of David Tennant’s Phileas Fogg.”
Tennant will be joined by French actor Ibrahim Koma as Fogg's trusty valet Passepartout and German actress Leonie Benesch (Spy City) as brand new character Abigail Fix, a journalist who joins the pair on their mad adventure.
No further casting details have been revealed as yet, but we're sure the trio will encounter plenty friends and foes on their journey.
The eight part series, penned by Life on Mars’ Ashley Pharoah, wrapped filming in March 2021, a year after it was forced to halt production due to the pandemic.
In September 2021, RadioTimes.com also unveiled some exclusive first-look images showing Tennant, Koma and Benesch in costume, and the Cape Town locations where part of the series was filmed.
Around the World in 80 Days will be released in the US on Sunday 2nd January via PBS, though no UK air date has been set yet. Want to watch something sooner? Check out our full TV Guide or our Drama hub for more news and features.
