Tom Hiddleston is trading in the magic of Asgard for the history and the devastation of ancient Rome. He’s been playing the God of Mischief on our screens for so long it’s sometimes difficult to believe if he’s telling us the truth or if he’s weaving another one of his tales, but the one thing Hiddleston does well is that he can put across his natural charisma, curiosity and presence on-screen and he’s bringing it to one of history’s greatest disasters.
The fabled eruption of Mount Vesuvius has been retold countless times, but National Geographic’s newest series is taking a more investigative approach, trying to figure out moment by moment exactly what went down on the day history changed forever. This time, the story of Pompeii is being rebuilt through the people who lived through its final hours. National Geographic has debuted the trailer for Pompeii: Out of Time With Tom Hiddleston, a new three-part docudrama premiering July 22 at 9/8c on National Geographic before arriving July 23 on Disney+ and Hulu. The series is hosted by Hiddleston and reunites him with Loki executive producer Kevin R. Wright.
As per the logline, the series “blends cinematic scripted drama with investigative documentary storytelling that transports audiences to ancient Rome in the hours before and during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Guided by a team of archaeologists, historians, geologists, and disaster experts, Tom uncovers remarkable evidence and stories of real people that challenge long-held assumptions about Pompeii and its final hours.“
“The ancient world has compelled my imagination and curiosity for as long as I can remember: I’ve been fascinated by it all my life,” said Hiddleston. “Classical Antiquity is the foundation and cornerstone of Western and European culture. To visit Pompeii is to feel the distance of the 2,000 years between now and then compress. The past becomes the present; the past feels so close. Tangible, honest and real. Our relationship with the past is alive — studying who we were in order to understand who we are. Pompeii is a gateway for that conversation. It’s a privilege to host this visually immersive and dynamic series. Pompeii is often remembered for how its story ended. But by looking closer, we can uncover the details of people’s lives, the choices they made, and the moments that came before the city was buried. To revisit the final hours of those ordinary people, caught in an extraordinary moment, and to help bring these remarkable human stories back into the light, is a genuine honor.”
What Happened in Pompeii?
In AD 79, Mount Vesuvius erupted, destroying Pompeii, an ancient city near modern day Naples. The eruption buried Pompeii under volcanic ash and pumice, and it killed many of the people who couldn’t escape from the carnage. What makes Pompeii so haunting and iconic, for lack of a better word, is how the ash preserved huge parts of the city almost like a time capsule — streets, homes, shops, frescoes, graffiti, and even the shapes of victims’ bodies were left behind.
In modern terms, around 800,000 people live in the Vesuvius red zone today, and in terms of disruption to infrastructure, mass displacement and deaths, Hurricane Katrina is probably the best rough match in a Western context. Long story short, this was an unprecedented disaster, and it happened in seconds.
Pompeii: Out of Time With Tom Hiddleston premieres July 22 on National Geographic and streams July 23 on Disney+ and Hulu.
via Collider