Hollywood star Hugo Weaving, known for Matrix (1999) and Lord of the Rings (2001), has unveiled the trailer of Ship of Theseus (2012) director Anand Gandhi and game designer Zain Memon’s Maya: Book One. Maya is a sci-fi fantasy narrative universe created by Anand Gandhi and Zain Memon that will unfold across films, games, books, graphic novels, and immersive experiences. Developed over four years, the first product from the universe is a novel, titled Maya: Book One.
The trailer features a voiceover of Hugo as he introduces the core concept of the universe with animated, fantastical visuals. The universe has been described as a “new mythology for the 21st century- not of Gods and monsters but of us.”
The novel’s synopsis reads, “The Divya Trials have been announced. Billions will compete. One will ascend to godhood. In every future predicted by Maya's vast network, the outcome is certain: the garuda scion Tarkash will win. The Divya cannot allow this. Kshar has rehearsed the assassination a hundred times in Maya’s simulations. In seventeen minutes, a single fruit will begin a cascade that ends in a riot. The plan is perfect. Every angle mapped. Every move predicted. Every breath choreographed. Except one. Yachay, a young manushya, harbors a dangerous secret. He has never seen Maya. And Maya hasn’t seen him either.”
Speaking about the project, Anand said in a press release, “MAYA is the project we’ve always dreamt of making. An epic that brings together our love for ancient myths and their philosophical depth, our love for high-fantasy and its magic systems, our love for hard science-fiction that builds upon and pushes the known frontiers of science."
Zain added, “We began by creating a new world. And like the Saganian apple pie, we built everything from scratch. We got geologists, biologists, linguists, architects, artists from around the globe to build this new world with us.”