I first heard about the new Samuel L. Jackson and Hayden Christensen film “Jumper” about a year ago when I got invited to be an extra for it as it filmed in Toronto. That was a really fun experience… although I didn’t leave knowing all that much about the movie other than the fact that the story revolves around Hayden Christensen who is a “Jumper” (someone with the ability to teleport) and that Sam Jackson is hunting for him. That’s all I knew.
Well, the official Jumper website is now up and online. It’s not great in the usability or design… it feels convoluted and difficult to get around… but it has LOADS of information on it about the film the mythology behind it. Here is what we can tell you from the site:
Jumpers aren’t anything new. They’ve been around for ages. They are born with the gift to teleport anywhere in the world at any time. They first discover this ability around the age of 5. Jumping can cause damage to themselves and the environment around them if they’re not careful. Stress, emotion and things like that all play roles in their abilities. When they “jump” they temporarily leave behind what is called a “jumpscar”. It’s a rip in time and space that has the appearance like cigarette smoke hanging in the air… a jumpscar can kill anyone or anything that comes in contact with it while it lingers.
Paladins (Sam Jackson’s character is one of these) are an ancient order committed to hunting down and killing Jumpers. From what I can tell, they hold no ill will to jumpers, it’s just that they believe they are a threat to the earth, and are simply too powerful to be allowed to exist. They try to locate and kill them while they’re still young and not as good with their new powers yet.
It sounds a little like the “Immortals / Watchers” scenario in the Highlander TV series… but still it looks and sounds cool. Not to mention Sam looks bad ass.
