Gary Whitta is versatile. He’s a writer on films such as Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and The Book of Eli and the TV series Star Wars Rebels. Whitta’s also penned video games, comics, and a bookOpens in a new tab. Then in 2020, he created a wildly popular show in Animal Crossing: New Horizons with Animal Talking. Whitta streamed his take on the late-night talk show on Twitch with a dazzling list of guestsOpens in a new tab. And now Whitta is leveraging Twitch to do something entirely different with his sci-fi novel Gundog: he’s debuting the audio adapation of Gundog in weekly live-streamed episodes on Twitch. It’s a live serialized sci-fi audio event!
Gundog is Whitta’s second novel. It tells a story about Earth in the near future. A race of alien machines known as the Mek has conquered the planet. But a rebellious young woman named Dakota Bregman finds a map that may liberate everyone. She has to go on a journey first though, and she finds a long-lost prototype war machine that will help humanity fight back.
The gripping plot will premiere to audiences on Twitch first. Whitta will live-stream each of the nine hour-long episodes on his Twitch channelOpens in a new tab. He’ll introduce each episode and then host a discussion at the end with listeners. After Gundog airs on Twitch, each episode will then be available through all major podcast providers and on Whitta’s YouTube channelOpens in a new tab. Once the adaptation wraps, listeners can get the novel Gundog in physical and digital formats.
This first-of-its-kind adaptation is ambitious. Plus Whitta has pulled in some top notch talent to help tell his self-produced audio serialization. Shannon Woodward (WestworldOpens in a new tab) performs the narration, while Grammy-nominated composer Austin Wintory (Journey) provides the score.
You can get a taste of the story with this preview:
Woodward’s narration and Wintory’s music make a captivating combination. We can’t wait to see more. The first episode of Gundog premieres at 7:00 p.m. PT on Wednesday, August 10 on Twitch (it will be right there on the front page, but be sure to follow Whitta’s channelOpens in a new tab). The adaptation will run for nine weeks with a separate weekly live broadcast every Saturday at 7:00 p.m. GMT to accommodate audiences in other time zones.
Amy Ratcliffe is the Editor-in-Chief for Nerdist and the author of Star Wars: Women of the Galaxy, The Art of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, The Jedi Mind, and more. Follow her on TwitterOpens in a new tab and InstagramOpens in a new tab.
