‘Our Planet’ Netflix series: release date, trailer, soundtrack and David Attenborough

22 March 2019, 17:51 | Updated: 27 March 2019, 16:58

Netflix And WWF 'Our Planet' Press Conference
Netflix And WWF 'Our Planet' Press Conference. Picture: Getty

By Helena Asprou

It’s taken the team four years to film, but now the new documentary series narrated by David Attenborough is just around the corner. Here’s everything you need to know about Our Planet.

As if Britain couldn’t love David Attenborough any more, he's back with a visionary new nature series: Our Planet. But this time, it's on Netflix.

Produced by Silverback Films and led by Alastair Fothergill, the synopsis for the eight-part series explains that it aims to “take viewers on an unprecedented journey through some of the world’s most precious natural habitats”.

From exotic jungles and ice caps to blue oceans and deserts, audiences can expect a spectacular showcase of the natural world – while also gaining a deeper understanding of how people are connected to nature and the role they play in protecting it.

What is the release date of Our Planet?

Narrated by the legendary broadcaster David Attenborough – who presented Blue Planet and more recently Dynasties – the first episode of Our Planet is hitting screens on April 5 and will be available to stream on Netflix.

Netflix has collaborated with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) for the series.

The makers of the eight-part series filmed the show in Ultra High Definition across 50 countries and with 600 crew members.

The Our Planet trailer

In the official trailer, Attenborough explains: “This is the story of our changing planet and what we can do to help it thrive.”

The video clip reveals the words ‘‘Share the wonder of the extraordinary place we call home” – a fitting introduction to the never-before-seen footage of some of the world’s rarest wildlife and their habitats.

Fans are also enjoying the music to the trailer, which features the song ‘The Wild’ by English folk band Mumford and Sons.

Who wrote the soundtrack for Our Planet?

British film composer Steven Price – the man behind the music for Suicide Squad and Baby Driver – has written a richly thematic score for Our Planet.

The 41-year-old Nottingham-born composer is best known for scoring the film Gravity, for which he won an Academy Award for ‘Best Original Score’ in 2014 — and in this latest project, he worked closely with the Philharmonia Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios, London to record the soundtrack.

Speaking about the soundtrack, he said: “For every moment across the eight films, from scenes of epic scale to those of incredible intimacy, my focus has always been on the emotional connection that the music could provide in support of the remarkable images.

“My hope is that the music for these films can take the audience on a real journey, helping to inspire the changes we need to care for our home.”

Sir David Attenborough added: “The sensitive score to Our Planet evokes the rich diversity that exists throughout our natural world. It weaves the connections between the extraordinary habitats of this unique place we all call home.”

Grammy-nominated pop singer Ellie Goulding was also approached by Price to develop the original track, 'In This Together'. She commented: “I felt like I was joining the ultimate team of earth defenders.

“It’s a series that simultaneously wakes you up to the emergency but also instils wonderment. Watch it, and you will never take the earth for granted again.”

As well as being available to stream and download, the soundtrack will be released by Decca Records on 5 April on CD and vinyl — and paving the way for change in the music industry, the album packaging is an eco-friendly material made from algae and FSC fibres, Shiro Alga Carta.

The innovative new packaging has been developed as a way to reprocess the damaging algal blooms of the Venice lagoon into a sustainable paper product.

David Attenborough and Penélope Cruz

David Attenborough is perhaps the world's most experienced natural history broadcaster – but it’s his first time working with Netflix.

In an interview with Prince William, David Attenborough expressed his excitement about working with the online streaming service, saying: “By putting it on Netflix, it becomes possible that overnight you can reach 150 million people immediately.”

Penelope Cruz, the narrator for the Spanish version of the show, added: “I feel very close to everything Our Planet stands for and I’m proud to bring such a powerful piece of work to my home country and audiences around the world.”

Our Planet Tracklist

Disc 1

1. This is Our Planet
2. The Numbers Build
3. They Work as a Team
4. The Importance of This River |
5. An Ingenious Technique
6. The Ocean Returns the Favour
7. Baby Blue
8. Regeneration
9. An Unknown Signal
10. Too Big to Argue With
11. Frozen Worlds
12. Mayflies
13. Great Rolling Waves
14. Crucial to Their Survival
15. Every Year There Are Others
16. Where Life Gathers
17. The Perfect Gift
18. The Oceans Belong to Us All

Disc 2

1. Deserts and Grasslands
2. The Mighty Mekong
3. Corals
4. Leaf Cutters
5. Chernobyl
6. Into the Woodlands
7. Signature Moves
8. Every Other Breath You Take
9. Arctic Refugees
10. A Sudden Turn
11. A Nest of Bubbles
12. He Wins Her Approval
13. Majestic Submarine Forests
14. They Came Back
15. We Must Preserve What’s Left
16. Ice Caves
17. Mythical Creatures Follow
18. They Have Come to a Desert
19. This Glacial Ice
20. A Greater Resilience
21. The Next Twenty Years
22. In This Together (Ellie Goulding & Steven Price)