Synopsis

In a ravaged future, technician Jack Harper maintains the drones that protect Earth's remaining resources while awaiting humanity's evacuation. After rescuing a mysterious survivor from a crashed spacecraft, Jack begins to question his memories, his orders, and the official history of the war that destroyed the planet. His search for answers leads to a discovery that could determine humanity's fate.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film developed from an unfinished graphic novel concept created as a visual pitch. The illustrated project was never released as a completed book, but its ideas became the basis for the movie.

• Oblivion was one of the first major motion pictures shot with Sony's F65 digital camera. The production captured footage in 4K, although the final digital intermediate was completed at 2K.

• The glass Sky Tower set was filmed without conventional blue-screen backgrounds. A huge curved muslin screen, measuring approximately 500 feet by 42 feet, was surrounded by 21 projectors displaying landscapes and skies filmed from Hawaii.

• The projection system provided both the environment and much of the lighting. Actors could see the changing sunrise, sunset, and cloud imagery around them, while reflections appeared naturally on the glass surfaces.

• The production spent 10 days filming in Iceland, using locations including volcanic landscapes and the area around Jarlhettur. The nearly continuous summer daylight helped create the film's bright, desolate visual style.

• A giant sand pit was constructed in St. Francisville, Louisiana, for scenes set in the planet's damaged landscape.

• Twenty-six duplicate environmental suits were made for the production because the costumes had to withstand extensive action and location work.

• The score was a long-planned collaboration. The treatment written in 2005 already named M83 as a musical influence, years before the band contributed the film's electronic-orchestral soundtrack.

• The film was presented as an original science-fiction story rather than a sequel or franchise entry. It opened in the United States on April 19, 2013.