If you tuned in to watch the shocking mid-season finale of THE WALKING DEAD last night, you may have seen an odd commercial. The ad consisted of two brief found footage sequences involving a number of rats congregating near a sewer grate and inside some sort of government building. The commercial ended abruptly and had no indicator as to what it was for. The only text in the thirty second clip were the words “He is Here” flashed for a split second in between the two sequences.
The ad has been making the rounds on the Internet today with the top contender being that it is a viral teaser for Guillermo Del Toro‘s THE STRAIN which will premiere on FX in July. Having read the books I can attest that the phrase “He is Here” is used as well as the image of rats massing in public places. If this turns out to be true, then I would expect to see more clips like this in the coming months.
THE STRAIN is being directed by Del Toro based on his trilogy of novels co-written with Chuck Hogan. The show will be produced by Carlton Cuse (LOST, BATES MOTEL) and will run for approximately 3-5 seasons if all goes according to plan. The novels deal with a vampire virus that runs rampant in New York City and eventually takes over the world. The series will star Corey Stoll, David Bradley, Mia Maestro, and Sean Astin.
Some are speculating that the clip, if not for THE STRAIN, could be for GODZILLA which also hits theaters in 2014. Or, it could be for something unrelated to film or television projects and just be an advertisement for something else. I would be willing to wager this will turn out to be THE STRAIN as the target audience for that series and THE WALKING DEAD are very similar. Plus, wouldn’t you want to advertise on a huge ratings success?
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