In a fresh season of Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age, Jon Favreau‘s cinematic influence takes center stage, driving innovation in the acclaimed Apple TV natural history series. Executive producer Mike Gunton, who directs factual content at BBC Studios’ Natural History Unit, explained how the partnership with Favreau has elevated the show’s visual storytelling and authenticity for global audiences.
The collaboration between Gunton and Favreau began years ago during production of The Lion King, ignited by shared curiosity about filming realism. Gunton describes their initial meeting as the start of a productive working relationship that now defines the series’ approach to blending cinematic techniques with natural history expertise. The two producers developed a dynamic exchange of notes—Gunton increasingly advising on visual effects, while Favreau focused on natural history elements. This exchange forged a new creative approach that prioritized realism above all.
“Apple set up this little meeting room in London,”
Mike Gunton, Director of Factual
“Jon came in with his iPad, showing me some of the things he was doing. He’d just seen my series Dynasties and wanted to know what camera I’d used and how we achieved that realism.”
Mike Gunton, Director of Factual
Fostering Realism through Collaborative Expertise
Gunton recalls their early conversations as a “geek huddle,” where both exchanged ideas on visual storytelling and perspective, focusing on how to immerse viewers in the animals’ world. Favreau’s background in movie visual effects combined with Gunton’s natural history narrative experience proved a powerful combination. Their partnership, Gunton says, is unique for the genre, as they routinely consult one another to ensure that sequences feel organically filmed, never fabricated for the screen.
“From that moment on, it was clear this was a good marriage — his expertise in movie VFX and mine in dramatic, natural history storytelling. Now, I sometimes give more notes on the visual effects, and he gives notes on the natural history. We’ve almost swapped roles,”
Mike Gunton, Director of Factual
“I talk to him all the time about whether the storytelling feels right. He keeps me honest — everything must look filmed, not fabricated.”
Mike Gunton, Director of Factual
Tom Hiddleston’s Narrative Brings the Past to Life
The new season welcomes Tom Hiddleston as narrator, best known for playing Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and for his work on Apple’s Earthsounds. Hiddleston’s fascination with the natural world and his personal connection—his young son’s interest in prehistoric animals—bolster the series’ emotional intensity. According to Gunton, Hiddleston’s enthusiasm shines through his narration, aligning well with the series’ ambitious leap into the Ice Age epoch. This new era, set from two million to eleven thousand years ago, is explored with both drama and educational rigor.
“He’s genuinely fascinated by this material,”
Mike Gunton, Director of Factual
“He’s got a young son who’s obsessed with Ice Age animals, and that excitement came through in every session. Moving to a new era, we felt he was the right person to be the voice of this world.”
Mike Gunton, Director of Factual
Crafting Authentic Prehistoric Worlds, Not Animated Fantasies
Despite obvious comparisons to the popular Ice Age animated films from Blue Sky, Gunton stresses that the inspiration for Prehistoric Planet is grounded in the tradition of Planet Earth documentaries, not animation. The team’s mission, he explains, is to transport the Planet Earth sensibility into entirely different prehistoric epochs, treating ancient landscapes with the same care as modern wildlife cinematography. This attention to detail and intent to avoid overt special effects stems directly from Jon Favreau’s cinematic principles.
“The idea was always to make a Planet Earth for other time periods. I like to think of it as taking the entire Planet Earth crew in a time machine, back to the end of the Cretaceous for the first series, and now to two million to eleven thousand years ago.”
Mike Gunton, Director of Factual
“Anything that could not be done with a real camera, we don’t do. Jon’s big magnifying glass is: it must never look like VFX. Those constraints actually give us greater authenticity.”
Mike Gunton, Director of Factual
Innovative Techniques Reinforce Authenticity
A defining visual choice for this season is the use of classic monochrome night-vision footage over modern colorized alternatives. Gunton regards this as a matter of honesty and taste rooted in personal field experience, insisting on simulating how humans perceive darkness to preserve realism. The characteristic grain and glow, familiar to wildlife filmmaking, serve as subtle cues to reinforce the sense that viewers are observing true nature and not computer-generated artifice.
“a matter of personal taste and honesty.”
Mike Gunton, Director of Factual
“When I go out at night, I don’t see in color — I’m using my rods, not my cones. My job is to make people see on screen what I experience in the field. Night vision in color feels wrong,”
Mike Gunton, Director of Factual
“Those cues subliminally add to authenticity,”
Mike Gunton, Director of Factual
“If you make something look too cutting-edge, the audience assumes it’s VFX. We’d rather they believe it’s real.”
Mike Gunton, Director of Factual
Challenges and Rewards in Visual Storytelling
The compelling opening blizzard sequence presented unique technical and creative hurdles, as filming in a real blizzard with digital creatures is impossible. The solution was to film actor and environmental interactions without snow, then layer in digital blizzard effects, essentially masking much of the visual work behind swirling snow. This willingness to hide complex effects reveals the production’s dedication to invisible craftsmanship driven by Favreau’s standards of believability and Gunton’s passion for storytelling.
“It’s one of the few scenes not shot in a real environment. You can’t put a digital mammoth in a real blizzard — the snow hides everything — so we built the blizzard digitally after filming all the interactions without any snow at all.”
Mike Gunton, Director of Factual
“You’re basically hiding all your work because that’s what looks authentic.”
Mike Gunton, Director of Factual
Environmental Relevance and Lasting Impact
Beyond cinematic innovation, the series reveals surprising truths about the Ice Age, such as the transformation of much of the planet into drier grasslands rather than a world covered entirely in snow. Gunton describes how water, locked in ice, caused forests to retreat and deserts to expand, reshaping global biomes and leaving a legacy visible in today’s savannas and steppes. This underlying message—how ancient climate pressures molded the modern world—adds immediacy and relevance for contemporary viewers.
“All that water locked in ice pulled moisture out of the air. Forests retreated, deserts expanded, and grasslands took over. The savannas and steppes we see today are a legacy of that climatic change.”
Mike Gunton, Director of Factual
“We’re watching the Earth reshape itself under extreme climate pressure. In a way, the world we live in today is the direct consequence of that transformation hundreds of thousands of years ago.”
Mike Gunton, Director of Factual
Continued Evolution of the Natural History Genre
Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age, produced under Mike Gunton’s leadership and shaped by Jon Favreau’s cinematic influence, stands at the intersection of artistry and rigorous science. Tom Hiddleston’s contemporary narration, Favreau’s filmmaking insight, and the BBC Studios team’s factual expertise together create a richly detailed journey through the ancient world—one that feels both astonishingly real and deeply resonant with the present. The show, now streaming on Apple TV, continues to inspire audiences by blending innovative visual storytelling with the unyielding pursuit of authenticity.
