Oblivion Song - What We Know So Far

On Wednesday, August 25, 2021, Variety announced that Jake Gyllenhaal is starring in the upcoming film adaptation of Robert Kirkman and Lorenzo de Felici's ongoing comic series, "Oblivion Song." It's the first major update on the status of the project since June 2019, when Deadline reported that an adaptation was in the works.

Fans of "The Walking Dead" — both the original comic penned by Kirkman and its long-running TV adaptation — should be excited about "Oblivion Song," as it deals with similar post-apocalyptic themes. "When faced with a cataclysmic event that permanently alters our lives, what would we choose to save?" said Riva Marker of Kirkman's Skybound Entertainment in a statement about the film. "Just as Kirkman did with 'The Walking Dead' and 'Invincible,' in 'Oblivion Song,' he's created the potential for a franchise that is profoundly entertaining, and the perfect opportunity to explore big questions we're reckoning with globally."

Kirkman's fans also won't have to wait nearly as long for "Oblivion Song" as they did for "The Walking Dead" to arrive on TV. The inaugural issue of "Oblivion Song" came out in 2018 and the film was announced just over a year later (via Deadline).

Here's everything we know so far about the "Oblivion Song" movie, including its potential release date, cast, and plot.

Currently, "Oblivion Song" doesn't yet have an announced release date, but fans can make an educated guess based on the schedules of the production company and the attached star. As noted below, Jake Gyllenhaal is both starring in and producing "Oblivion Song." This is the result of a first-look partnership between Gyllenhaal's production company, Nine Songs, and the production and financing company New Republic Pictures, which was signed in August 2020 (via Deadline). The first result of that partnership is Gyllenhaal's upcoming thriller "Ambulance," which premieres on February 18, 2022 (via Variety).

"Ambulance" started principal photography in January 2021 and concluded in March, lasting a bit more than two months (via Variety Insights). Given that timeline, the earliest that "Oblivion Song" could premiere is October 2022. However, Gyllenhaal is currently committed to numerous other projects, including seven films and TV shows that will premiere after "Ambulance" (via Film Zone), like the adaptation of the musical "Fun Home" (via Broadway.com) or the adaptation of the video game "The Division" (via Variety). If Gyllenhaal goes into production on one of those projects first, it's entirely possible "Oblivion Song" won't premiere until some time in 2023. Still, no one knows when "Oblivion Song" will release just yet, leaving fans to speculate.

So far, the only announced cast member of "Oblivion Song" is Jake Gyllenhaal, who will be playing the lead role of Nathan Cole. As reported by Variety, Gyllenhaal's production company, Nine Stories, is also producing the film, along with Robert Kirkman's Skybound Entertainment.

Until more casting announcements are made, moviegoers can only speculate about which other characters might be appearing in the movie. Nathan's brother Ed will most likely be a major character — Nathan locates him in Oblivion early in the story and convinces him to return to Earth. Then there's Duncan, a scientist whom Nathan once rescued and now is helping him search Oblivion and treat its survivors. Two more major characters are Heather, Nathan's girlfriend and a resident of Philadelphia, and Lucy, Edward's love interest and a survivor of Oblivion. Finally, there's Director Ward, a military scientist who wants to weaponize the phenomena found within Oblivion (via Comic Vine). 

"Oblivion Song" is based on the 2018 Robert Kirman comic series of the same name. Anyone who enjoys "The Walking Dead," particularly its themes about societal collapse, should find a lot to enjoy here.

The story is set in the near future, when a cataclysmic event called "Oblivion" turns Philadelphia into a post-apocalyptic hellscape overrun with freakish monsters, wiping out 300,000 people in the process. Ten years later the government has all but abandoned Philadelphia. One man, named Nathan Cole, still makes daily trips into Philly to try to save people.

When it concludes its run, the "Oblivion Song" graphic novel will cover 36 issues, broken up into 12-issue "chapters." In February 2021, Kirkman announced that "Oblivion Song" would end with issue #36 (via Image Comics). Image Comics hasn't yet announced a publication date for Issue #36 but it will most likely be in November or December 2021, since issues come out about once a month (via Image Comics).