Sky have released a trailer for the second series of their action-drama Strike Back--now referred to as Strike Back: Project Dawn, making it sound like a video-game for XBOX. Series 2 is a co-production between Sky and Cinemax/HBO and has been expanded from three 90-minute episodes to 10 regular episodes. Writers Frank Spotnitz (The X Files) and Richard Zadjlic (EastEnders) have also joined the team.
This trailer is an unwelcome surprise, actually. While it looks perfectly good visually, it suggests the show's star Richard Armitage (Spooks, Robin Hood) will have a significantly reduced role, as two new characters (played by Camelot's Philip Winchester and Australian actor Sullivan Stapleton) are introduced on a mission to find Armitage's kidnapped SAS hero John Porter.
Knowing that Armitage is currently filming The Hobbit in New Zealand, are we to assume that he'll only be appearing in a handful of these 10 episodes? Have Sky been forced to alter the show's direction, by bringing in new characters who will probably replace Armitage eventually? If so, will Strike Back survive this major change, considering it was originally sold on Armitage's appeal? I have my doubts. It's rather like trying to sell a season of 24 where Kiefer Sutherland's barely involved, isn't it?
Cinemax's superior and longer trailer is below, confirming the controversial lack of its hero from series 1:
Strike Back: Project Dawn will premiere on Cinemax this summer. Sky have not yet set a date for their broadcast.
