Journey through the portals of Universal Epic Universe in an upcoming one-hour NBC special hosted by Joe Manganiello (One Piece).
Inside the Worlds of Epic Universe will take viewers on a tour of America’s newest state-of-the-art theme park, which features lands based on How to Train Your Dragon, Nintendo, the Universal Monsters, and Harry Potter. io9 got to visit earlier this year and can’t wait to see the park again, even through the television screen. We’re especially excited to return to the grounds of Darkmoor.
If there’s any sort of POV walk-through (much like the other park), that would be very neat. And even if the TV special is a thinly veiled advertisement to entice more visitors, we don’t mind. In fact, we have some suggestions for future shows in this vein: how about an after-dark stroll through Dark Universe’s spooky ambiance set to that epic Danny Elfman score to watch whenever we need a hit of immersive Universal Horror?
What we do know so far about the special is that it will follow Manganiello experiencing Celestial Park, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic, Super Nintendo World, How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk, and Dark Universe. “As a kid growing up a huge fan of the movies, I couldn’t be more excited about diving into these immersive worlds that bring some of my all-time favorite characters to life,” Manganiello shared in the press release. “From the iconic monsters of Dark Universe to the super-sized attractions of How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk, there is something for everyone to enjoy.”
Additionally, Universal family stars and creatives will stop by, including Bowen Yang (Wicked), Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World franchise), Jon M. Chu (Wicked), Mason Thames (How to Train Your Dragon), Matt Rogers, Michelle Yeoh (Wicked), Nico Parker (How to Train Your Dragon), Warwick Davis, and Vin Diesel. We have to note that’s a lot of Wicked stars so we’d be happy if they finally announced a Wicked Oz portal, just sayin’. Plus our movie father, Steven Spielberg, will be featured in an extended interview about the cinematic worlds of Universal theme parks.
Inside the Worlds of Epic Universe will air Wednesday, August 20 at 9 p.m. ET/PT and will be available to stream the next day on Peacock. Later this year, fans can look for Epic Ride: The Story of Universal Theme Parks, a three-part Peacock docuseries. For more info on booking a trip to the park visit here.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
