Apple TV+ dropped the trailer Thursday for “Dark Matter” and it looks like a rip-off of the Angel Studios movie “The Shift.”
The trailer for “Dark Matter” describes the series as being based on a book by Blake Crouch in which the seemingly average protagonist Jason Dessen (played by Joel Edgerton) is abducted into an alternate reality. Dressen is a “physicist, professor and family man” who is ” taken to an alternate version of his life.”
But “wonder quickly turns to nightmare when he tries to return to his reality amid the mind-bending landscape of lives he could have lived. In this labyrinth of realities, he embarks on a harrowing journey to get back to his true family and save them from the most terrifying, unbeatable foe imaginable: himself,” the description continues.
It sounds like “Dark Matter” is just a mainstream, secular rip-off of the stories of Job and Angel Studio’s incredibly popular film “The Shift,” executive produced by “The Chosen” creator Dallas Jenkins, writer/director Brock Heasley and producer Ken Carpenter. (RELATED: Studio Behind ‘Sound Of Freedom’ Announces New Project And You Might As Well Start Stocking Up On Tissues Now)
“The Shift” follows a man called Kevin who is abducted by a man known as “The Benefactor” (ie: the Devil) and is dragged around multiple alternate realities and temptations within a dystopian nightmare.
“In the end, Job proved worthy of God’s faith in him. The question is: can Kevin overcome the temptation of untold wealth and power to do the same?” Angel Studios wrote in the description for the film.
Sound familiar?
While there are probably many differences between Crouch’s Bible-inspired novel and the modern retelling developed by Angel Studios, the similarities are pretty blatant in the advertising. (RELATED: REVIEW: ‘After Death’ Is The Film Everyone Needs To See Right Now)
It doesn’t really matter which came first, or which is better. But I bet one will leave the audience feeling fulfilled and the other will leave us with a gaping hole where our souls used to be. I’ll let you decide which is which.