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The Eternaut (TV series)
Argentine television series From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Eternaut (Spanish: El Eternauta) is an Argentine science fiction television series created by Bruno Stagnaro, based on the comic of the same name by Héctor Germán Oesterheld and Francisco Solano López. Produced by Netflix and K&S Films, the series centers on a group of survivors of a deadly snowfall powered by an alien invasion. The Eternaut was released in April 2025. It received generally favorable reviews. A second season has been commissioned.[2]
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Premise
In Buenos Aires, a mysterious snowfall occurs one night, quickly killing most of the population. Juan Salvo and his friends are among the thousands who survive, but in the aftermath, life is a struggle. Then, they learn the snow was just the beginning of an attack by extraterrestrial invaders. "The only way to stay alive is to join together and fight. No one will survive on their own."[3]
Cast and characters
- Ricardo Darín as Juan Salvo, a "common man involved in an extraordinary situation."[4]
- Carla Peterson as Elena, Salvo's ex-wife[4]
- César Troncoso as Alfredo Favalli ("Tano")[4]
- Andrea Pietra as Ana, Favalli's wife[4]
- Ariel Staltari as Omar: an original character created for the series, which Staltari described as "the audience's eye, who somewhat questions the friends' bond."[4]
- Marcelo Subiotto as Lucas, a friend of Salvo[4]
- Mora Fisz as Clara Salvo, daughter of Juan and Elena[4]
- Claudio Martínez Bel as Polsky ("Ruso"), a friend of Salvo[4]
- Orianna Cárdenas as Inga, an original character created for the series[4]
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Episodes
Background
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In 1968, advertisement production company Gil & Bertolini acquired the rights to The Eternaut to make an animated television series, to be presented at the First World Comic Book Biennial. Each episode would be introduced by Oesterheld himself, and the animation would be rotoscoped, a very expensive technique at the time. The project was cancelled after the production of a 24-minute pilot.[5][6]
For the following twenty years, financial and copyrights problems prevented different adaptations of The Eternaut for film and television.[5] Argentine directors such as Fernando "Pino" Solanas and Gustavo Mosquera expressed their interest on adapting the material, as did Adolfo Aristarain.[7] At the time, Aristarain said that the only way to produce the film would be in English, given it would cost at least US$10–15 million and American actors would be conditional to get the necessary funds from American production companies, but "that wouldn't be the correct way" because he considered Argentine culture an integral part of The Eternaut.[7]
In 1995, there was a miniseries project led by a major TV network from Buenos Aires, with computer animation company Aicon in charge of special effects. A preliminary contract had been signed with a big Hollywood studio.[7] In 2007, an Italian production company worked on an adaptation of The Eternaut, in agreement with Oesterheld's widow and grandsons. It entered negotiations with Argentine studios and the National Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts (INCAA) for a possible co-production.[8] In 2008, director Lucrecia Martel was hired for a film adaptation of The Eternautwhich would take place in the present day.[9] She worked on the script for a year and a half,[6] but the Oesterheld family decided that the production strayed too far from the source material, the producers stepped down and the project went stagnant.[10][6] In 2018, Spanish filmmaker Álex de la Iglesia expressed interest in making an adaptation, with actor Ricardo Darín on board to star in the project.[11]
Director Bruno Stagnaro had always liked the source material and he always felt very close to it, citing its "definite and precise anchoring in [Argentina's] space" as an influence for his early projects Pizza, Beer, and Cigarettes (1998) and Okupas (2000).[12] In 2003, he began writing his own version of the story set in a present-day post-apocalyptic Buenos Aires, completing the script of the first episode and doing tests with Okupas star Rodrigo de la Serna at Ideas del Sur production company. However, the project was dropped over budget concerns.[12]
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Production
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Development
K&S Films made a deal with the author's estate in the early 2000s. The project, initially a film, became a series after Netflix entered the project in 2018. According to K&S Films producer Matías Mosteirín, "Getting back to episodic structure was the best scenario in terms of the narrative and being loyal to the DNA of the original story."[13] That same year, Stagnaro met with Mosteirín and co-producer Leticia Cristi and told them about his project, which they linked to their version of The Eternaut.[12] Martín Oesterheld—the author's grandson—and Laura Bruno, who own the rights for the original comic book, gave permission for the project on the condition of it being filmed in Buenos Aires and spoken in Spanish.[12][14]
In February 2020, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings announced they would produce a series adaptation of The Eternaut, directed by Stagnaro with Martín Oesterheld—also a filmmaker—as a consultant, to be released between late 2021 and early 2022.[15][16] In August 2021, Netflix Vice President for Latin American Content Francisco Ramos assured that the project was still moving forward, but that the series wouldn't be released before 2023 due to complications related to the COVID-19 pandemic.[17] Ramos detailed the development of the screenplay as well as the "technological and technical design" of the series, which he described as "one of the most ambitious Latin American projects in Spanish ever made".[18] In March 2025, Ramos reiterated that The Eternaut would be "a turning point for the film industry in Argentina" when it comes to "technological advances, audacity, entertainment and film language".[19] In February 2023, The Eternaut was one of the projects selected for the BA Cash Rebate program for international productions filming in Buenos Aires, receiving up to 20% of expenses.[20]
On 1 May 2025, a day after the first season premiered, Netflix confirmed development of a second season, which will conclude the series,[21] with Stagnaro returning as creator and director.[13] According to Francisco Ramos, season two will "dig into a lot of sci-fi concepts that were only mentioned in season 1, and they are going to be fully developed". The season will likely consist of eight episodes.[13]
Writing
The script was written in two years.[22] Early in development a decision was made to set the series in the present day. According to Stagnaro, this kept it in line with the spirit of the original work, in which the author "plays a lot with it being contemporary to the reader."[23] The point was for the city to be "a living presence in the story" and for the audience to recognize the space the characters inhabit as a parallel version of their own world.[24]
Stagnaro considered that the main challenge was making decisions that are necessary but controversial among fans of the original work. "It's like a trap, beyond the decisions you make, there will always be some people that are left resentful. There's that mentality of 'not touching the original story because it is sacred.'"[23] He also pointed out that The Eternaut, unlike other post-apocalyptic works of fiction, showed the unfolding of events in real time instead of jumping forward to a point where they were already advanced, which he considered "one of its greatest complexities."[23]
Stagnaro highlighted the difficulty of adapting the story from a serialized comic book, with "absolutely ephemeral" character arcs and "little long-term construction", to a TV series with hour-long episodes.[12] He wanted to preserve the "precarity" and atada con alambre (transl. patched-up) quality from the Eternaut comic book that represented Argentine culture, which he considered as "what we can contribute to global science fiction".[12]
Martín Oesterheld stated that the series aimed to be faithful to his grandfather's vision, where "no one saves themselves" and there is a "collective hero", a term the author included in his original prologue for the comic book.[25] Stagnaro added that the series is about characters that were "almost beaten down by the system or about to be discarded" and are given a second chance. Mosteirín said that the show also deals with loyalty and friendship. He described it as "a tragedy, but an epic and an adventure as well."[24]
Casting
In March 2023, Ricardo Darín was revealed to be in negotiations to star in the series,[26] and he confirmed his involvement in April.[27] Darín also said the series would be "an updated version" with a broader reach than local audiences.[14] Darín's casting was controversial due to the age difference between him and his character in the comics.[28] Initially, Stagnaro doubted casting 68-year-old Darín as a character in his thirties due to the physicality required for the role.[19] However, that allowed for the possibility to justify the character's knowledge of guns, uncommon in Argentina, as well as his habit of playing Truco with friends, in order for the character to be believable in the updated setting of the story.[12]
Design
María Battaglia and Julián Romera were the series's art directors. Battaglia explained that the snow in Buenos Aires was inspired by "high mountain documentaries, Norwegian painters and various Buenos Aires photographers" for realism.[19] They considered the original comic book to be the show bible, consulting it to address artistic and aesthetic concerns.[19] Five different kinds of snowflakes were created for the show for different purposes, such as kitchen salt for footprints on the ground, and dried foaming soap for falling snow.[24]
For Juan Salvo's wardrobe, Darín commented that he wanted something "waterproof and light, more modern" but Stagnaro insisted on using clothing with "an old smell" to it, and decided on a sheepskin coat, which was much heavier to wear and proved difficult while doing stunts. Darín ultimately commended the director's decision.[29]
Filming
Filming began in Buenos Aires in May 2023.[30] Gastón Girod served as director of photography.[3] The cast was announced to include Carla Peterson, César Troncoso, Andrea Pietra, Ariel Staltari, Marcelo Subiotto, Claudio Martínez Bel, Orianna Cárdenas, and Mora Fisz.[31] In June 2023, scenes were shot at the Avenida General Paz, the border between Vicente López Partido and Buenos Aires neighborhoods Núñez and Saavedra. The sets featured snow, armed soldiers, and old cars.[32] Further filming at Saavedra took place in October 2023.[33] In November 2023, it was reported that filming was delayed due to Darín's busy schedule. Shooting continued with the rest of the cast, while Peterson had already finished filming her scenes.[34] Filming concluded in December 2023, lasting 148 days.[35][22]
Over 35 locations were used, with over 25 stages created through virtual production.[3] Vast areas of Buenos Aires were digitally scanned and translated into an Unreal Engine virtual reality system,[12] to then be projected onto a screen on set, which allowed filming of exterior scenes from different environments consecutively without sacrificing "identity and realism." The COVID-19 pandemic enabled the filming of the "desolate city" from the comic.[24]
Post-production
Post-production lasted for a year and a half.[22] Alejandro Brodersohn and Alejandro Parysow served as editors and Martín Grignaschi was the sound designer, with Pablo Accame and Ignacio Pol as VFX supervisors.[3] Stagnaro said technological development was one of the main reasons the project was possible. He thought it was crucial to have the autonomy to "design and then own" the digital environment instead of it "coming already pre-designed from abroad", as the original work had "such deep roots" in Argentina that only locals could construct it.[12] The digitally scanned and projected environments were then sent to foreign studios to "complement the work".[12]
International visual effects vendors included DNEG in London, ReDefine in Barcelona, Scanline VFX in Los Angeles, Planet X in the Netherlands, and ILP in Stockholm.[13] The visual effects were added in during filming, to allow Stagnaro to "remain creative on the set" and have more freedom.[13] Generative AI was also used, to create a shot of a collapsing building.[36][37] This was confirmed by Netflix's co-chief executive Ted Sarandos, who claimed it was used to speed up production and save money.[38]
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Music
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Federico Jusid composed the score for The Eternaut.[3] The series includes several songs by Argentine artists: "No pibe" and "Jugo de tomate frío" by Manal, "El magnetismo" by Él Mató a un Policía Motorizado, "Fuego" by Intoxicados, "Cuando pase el temblor" by Soda Stereo, "Credo (Chacarera Trunca)" sung by Mercedes Sosa, "Caminito" and "Volver" by Carlos Gardel, "Salgan al sol" by Billy Bond y la Pesada del Rock and Roll, and "Chacarera del rancho" by Los Hermanos Ábalos. It also features "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" sung by Dean Martin and "Auld Lang Syne" by Robert Burns.[39]
All tracks are written by Federico Jusid, except when noted.
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Release
The first season was released in its entirety on Netflix on 30 April 2025, consisting of six episodes.[3] The series was originally set to be released between late 2021 and early 2022,[16] but was delayed to 2025 due to complications related to the COVID-19 pandemic.[17]
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, The Eternaut has an approval rating of 95% based on 19 critics' reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Grounded by layered performances and a foreboding pace, The Eternaut is a post-apocalyptic adventure that derives its thrills from character as much as it does set pieces."[40] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 72 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[41]
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References
External links
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