To launch Planet Earth III, the third part in the highly-lauded and multi-Emmy Award-winning Planet Earth series, BBC AMERICA and BBC Studios today released an extended first-look trailer. You can watch the trailer by scrolling down.
The trailer is accompanied by a song created and performed by Academy Award-winning composer Hans Zimmer, Mercury Prize Award nominated singer songwriter RAYE, and Brit-winning and Grammy Award-nominated band Bastille, in collaboration with Emmy and BAFTA Award-winning composer collective Bleeding Fingers Music.
Executive produced by Emmy Award-winner Mike Gunton (Planet Earth II, Dynasties II) and series-produced by Emmy Award-nominee Matt Brandon (Cities: Nature’s New Wild), renowned naturalist and three-time Emmy Award-winner Sir David Attenborough (Planet Earth II, Blue Planet II, Frozen Planet II) narrates the eight-episode groundbreaking and cinematic series that is premiering on BBC AMERICA and AMC+ later this year.
The extended trailer features the brand-new track “Mother Nature” with beautiful compelling lyrics written and performed by RAYE, combined with Bastille frontman Dan Smith’s mesmerizing vocals, that reflect the Earth’s awe, beauty, fragility and resilience, subjects highlighted throughout the series.
The stunning visuals in the extended trailer give us a tantalizing glimpse of the extraordinary animals from around the globe set to feature in the series, which include a leopard leaping an astounding 30ft in Southern Africa, a wild rhino walking through the busy streets of a Nepalese town and a mass of skydiving tree frogs in the Costa Rican jungle, all filmed during this five-year project.
Over the last year composers Hans Zimmer, Jacob Shea, Sara Barone and Bastille’s Dan Smith have collaborated across the Planet Earth III series score. These stunning soundscapes feature Dan Smith’s vocals on the opening title theme song, as well as within all episodes of the series. Their collaborative reworking of Bastille’s hit single, “Pompeii” entitled “Pompeii MMXXIII,” features on the series end credits.
Two-time Academy Award-winner Hans Zimmer also worked on the track with his long-term collaborators from Bleeding Fingers Music, producer Russell Emanuel and arranger Andrew Christie. Zimmer and Bleeding Fingers Music previously composed the BAFTA-nominated score to Planet Earth II, and critically-acclaimed music for Blue Planet II and Frozen Planet II.
“Creating scores for any of the BBC’s Natural History series is always an honor for me as there are no more epic stories than those occurring naturally every day in our own planet’s ecosystem,” said Hans Zimmer. “For Planet Earth III it’s a further privilege to bring the incredible world class talents of Bastille and RAYE to create both a wonderful sound scape for the series, and the beautiful, poignant track Mother Nature.”
RAYE said: “I am a Planet Earth stan, I’ve watched religiously for years, so having this opportunity open for me doesn’t even feel real. David Attenborough and Hans Zimmer are two of my heroes, to be able to compose a song with Hans is BEYOND a wildest dream, and then to hear Sir David narrate over and in between my voice actually brings tears to my eyes.
“To be able to contribute in my small way to this massively important and equally beautiful documentary series is an honor and a moment I will always cherish.”
Dan Smith from Bastille added: “Working on the music for Planet Earth III with Hans, Russell, Sara and Jacob, from Bleeding Fingers Music has been an absolute dream come true for me. I can’t believe how lucky I’ve been to collaborate with, and learn from, such hugely talented musicians on this incredible project.
“Like so many of us, I’ve grown up watching David Attenborough teach us all about the natural world, so being a small part of this legendary show has been really surreal, an amazing experience and such a huge privilege.”
Mike Gunton added: “The soundscape is the secret sauce of a great wildlife series and there is no-one better to deliver this than our long-term collaborator Hans and his team – but what makes this extraordinary musical project exciting for me is the new ingredient provided by Raye and Bastille. This creative combination is unprecedented, and the results are jaw-droppingly good!”
Seven years after the ground-breaking Emmy and BAFTA Award-winning Planet Earth II, the eagerly-anticipated Planet Earth III will journey across the continents revealing the wonders of our planet. This spellbinding series will feature never before seen behavior, and dive deep into the stories and animal characters which reflect the new challenges that wildlife faces in our modern, crowded world.
The series will also highlight the growing need to preserve and restore nature. In the final episode, viewers will meet some of the dedicated ‘heroes’ across the globe who put their lives on the line to protect the wildlife and the critically-important ecosystems of Planet Earth.
Planet Earth III is BBC Studios Natural History Production co-produced with BBC AMERICA, ZDF and France Televisions in partnership with The Open University for BBC. The executive producer is Mike Gunton, and the series producer is Matt Brandon. BBC Studios is handling global distribution.
Mirko Parlevliet has been reporting on the entertainment industry since 1998 and founded Vital Thrills in 2018 to cover the latest news on streaming, movies, TV, and video games.