EXCLUSIVE: EXCERPT from BEFORE TOMORROWLAND PREQUEL BOOK

It seems as if the mystery deepens with BEFORE TOMORROWLAND as we get a first look at a test cover for the prequel novel, and share an early excerpt from the book itself.

The excerpt tells an exciting story of a military base, a Plus Ultra zeppelin, wireless power, and Nazis! It's sounds like we'll be on an exciting adventure far away from the 1939 World's Fair, the only location shared in the official description of the book.

The book had its temporary cover shared on the Disney Book Press catalog today:

While there are not too many details in the test cover, we can clearly see some of the swooshing buildings from Tomorrowland, and a clear zeppelin on the cover. This leads us to a picture that Johnathan Case, the book's illustrator, shared publicly on Facebook:

In addition to a really cute kid, we see that he has a copy of one of the pages open on his tablet. With some digital enhancement, we were able to make out the text on that page:

When he looked back up, the moon and stars were gone, blotted out by a huge blanket of flickering black that moved toward him, overtaking the sky. Rotwang (?) ducked as the great shape soared over him and into the hangar. Sirens went up through the base, and the Plus Ultra zeppelin’s bow punched through the hanger bay’s veil, gliding into brightly lit existence out of the night. 

He was sprawled on the ground, pelted by the airship’s turbines as they reversed and brought the massive craft to a slow, sideways drift over the jets. The Nazi’s screamed at each other, running to defensive positions, and one of his apocalypse jumpers leapt over him to board the zeppelin. There was a flash and a shot. The jumper sparked and went limp in mid-air, then crashed and tumbled to a dead stop on the hangar floor.

“Sniper!” he cried. Three other apocalypse jumpers opened fire on the zeppelin with their heavy machine guns, but even as he shouted, two of them fell in a blaze of electromagnetic energy, crumpled around their helpless pilots.

Sounds exciting, doesn't it? In addition to another confirmation of the Plus Ultra society (first explored in "The Optimist" viral marketing), it looks like we have an Indiana Jones-style adventure story unfolding before us in the book, and hopefully in the film as well.

BEFORE TOMORROWLAND is on store shelves on April 7th, 2014 (6 weeks before the film releases) and you can preorder it on Amazon.

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TOMORROWLAND's Secret "PLUS ULTRA" Society on WIKIPEDIA

The history of Tomorrowland's secret Plus Ultra society deepens. 

Five Wikipedia articles were edited to contain references to Plus Ultra, all made by a user named TeslaAfficianado. His edits are presented below.  

Nikola Tesla in popular culture:

A popular, growing fixation among science fiction, comic book, and speculative history storytellers is to portray Tesla as a member of some secret society, comprised of other luminaries of science. (While allegedly linked to a variety of real-world legends, from the Freemasons to the Illuminati to Plus Ultra, Tesla denied belonging to any kind of esoteric organization.)

Phonograph:

Edison brought an even more refined "class M" iteration to the 1889 World's Fair in Paris, where it was a sensational hit with attendees. A show model is on permanent display atop the EIffel Tower, where an apartment belonging to Gustave EIffel is now a museum space. Visitors can peek inside port windows and see mannequins of Edison and Eiffel (and Eiffel's daughter, posed with the phonograph), the tableau commemorating their fabled meeting of September 10, 1899 in which, over cigars and cognac, they discussed possible joint projects and their participation in Jules Verne's "smoking club" for avowed futurists, dubbed Plus Ultra. (French composer Charles Gounod was also a guest at this reception, and he and Edison discussed the prospect of recording a performance of Gounod's opera ''Faust,'' but a collaboration never materialized.)

1939 New York World's Fair:

They received pins that declared "I have seen the future." 

Some pavilions hosted private events for VIP attendees exhibiting even more advanced technological concepts developed by futurist design studios and think tanks like Plus Ultra.

1964 New York World's Fair & Century 21 Exposition:

Many American companies had a major presence, while private design studios with a futurist mandate like Plus Ultra played a smaller though influential role.  

Alaska–Yukon–Pacific Exposition:

William Boeing, founder of Boeing, stated that it was during the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition when he saw a manned flying machine for the first time during a technology showcase co-sponsored by Plus Ultra design studios and became fascinated with aircraft.

As you can see in the revision history, most of these edits were removed as an "unsourced and gratuitous company reference" by other Wikipedia users, however the Phonograph edit still remains. 

The most confounding aspect of these edits? They were made all the way back in September and October of 2012, placing them well before the 1952 Box reveal and after the film's initial announcement. 

Beyond the in-universe mysteries, these edits inspire a behind-the-scenes curiosity: Who is TeslaAfficianado? A key member of the creative team? Lindelof? Bird? Jensen? Are there any other Wikipedia users spreading the word of Plus Ultra? If you find anything, let us know!

Our thanks to friend of Tomorrowland Times Kalani for this fascinating tip.

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BREAKING: FIRST LOOK at BEFORE TOMORROWLAND PREQUEL COMIC

Last month, Disney Press announced the upcoming release of Before Tomorrowland, an original novel which expands on the universe of the Tomorrowland film, including a 20-page prequel comic.

After some digital sleuthing, Tomorrowland Times discovered that the comic's artist Jonathan Case posted this seemingly innocuous preview of a page he was coloring:

Tesla, Edison, and Eiffel.

We immediately knew what we were looking at: the fabled meeting of the Plus Ultra society in the real-world Eiffel Tower apartment! (As described in The Optimist ARG.)

Additionally, Case posted this draft of the full lineup of the Plus Ultra society members:

As described in our recap of the The Optimist ARG, the Plus Ultra society is populated by such historical figures as Nicola Tesla, Thomas Edison, H.G. Wells, Alexandre Eiffel, Mark Twain, Amelia Earhart, and Walt Disney.

Amelia Earhart's plane.

In September of last year, popular web comic The Oatmeal posted an article entitled "Is Disney making a movie about Nikola Tesla?" In it, he describes his interaction with director Brad Bird:

 ... they asked me a bunch of questions about Nikola Tesla. They asked what Tesla was doing in Colorado, and if he'd ever conducted experiments at Mineral King. They asked if Tesla belonged to an organization called "Plus Ultra", and if it was possible for him to have met Walt Disney.

How far the movie will delve into the back story of the society is still unclear, however these images confirm that its formation will be extensively explored in this prequel book.

Before Tomorrowland is now up for preorder and is set for release April 7, 2015.

Einstein.

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TOMORROWLAND PANEL AT D23 "DESTINATION D"

Just announced by Slashfilm, it seems that New York Comic Con will not be the only place for the latest news about TOMORROWLAND.

According to the report, there will be a panel on the film, and specifically it's 1964 World's Fair scenes, with the film’s supervising art director Ramsey Avery giving details and behind the scenes information on how these scenes were recreated.

The event has a whole day dedicated to the 1964 World's Fair, and we can assume the panel will be held on that day. Destination D: Attraction Rewind will be held on November 22 and 23rd in Walt Disney World at the Contemporary Resort.

Key scenes of TOMORROWLAND take place at the 1964 World's Fair, including an assumed chase inside the it's a small world attraction, and a scene during the Carousel of Progress.

Tomorrowland Times was already planning on attending the event (due to the assumed TOMORROWLAND marketing tie-in), so expect a live-tweet and summary recapping all the news from the panel.

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TOMORROWLAND AT NEW YORK COMIC CON

While TOMORROWLAND did not make an appearance at San Diego Comic Con, Walt Disney Pictures has just announced that it will present an exclusive look at the film at New York Comic Con on October 9th.

Tomorrowland Times will present live, on-site coverage of this event. Stay tuned for updates as they are released.

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