Universal’s docuseries story hits opening day deadline

Showrunner and director John Marks remembers the first time he set foot in Epic Universe. It was late October 2024, six months before the theme park opened to the public. “It was enchanting,” he says. He wanted to capture that feeling for viewers when he was asked to film Peacock’s three-part series, “Epic Ride: The Story of Universal’s Theme Parks.” The series follows the construction of the theme park during the six months leading up to opening day on May 22, 2025.

Marks knew he didn’t want to make a commercial. The theme park, which opened last May, marked the first major theme park debut in the U.S. in nearly 25 years (Universal’s Islands of Adventure opened in 1999). Public excitement was high, but behind the scenes, those six months were filled with challenges as everyone rushed to meet the opening day deadline. “It was a ticking clock, and that clock was ticking loudly at the end of 2024,” Marks recalls.

The series begins with ‘The Build’, which delves into the history of Universal Studios’ theme parks. Subsequent episodes focus on the park’s construction, its history, and how Universal Pictures’ films tie into the attractions. Key talking heads include Vin Diesel, Bryce Dallas Howard, Universal’s chairman Donna Langley and Steven Spielberg. For Marks, it was about finding the right voices to fit the ‘accordion’ of storytelling. Diesel, whose “Fast & Furious” franchise is Universal’s largest, was an obvious choice. Spielberg, a longtime Universal employee, was a no-brainer. Marks explains, “Spielberg is transitioning from film to the parks. He has been a partner going back to the 1970s with the first ‘Jaws’ ride.”

In addition to the big names, Marks also wanted to highlight the creative minds behind the creation of the park. He brought in technical engineers, ride designers and costume artists to tell their stories. “They could talk about what it’s like to create something that large numbers of people will experience and respond to emotionally. All of these creative artists faced incredible challenges.”

When Marks entered the Epic Universe grounds in October, he brought cameraman Philipp Friesenbichler with him. “I wanted him to come because I felt like we would see something that would make us hungry to show it to people,” says Marks. He continues, “I’ve never been to a place that was so vast and creatively detailed, while still being a work in progress. I’d never seen anything like it on camera and I knew my cameraman would see the same thing.”

“The beauty of it was something very mundane: people in hard hats walking around on the most amazing, dizzying roller coaster you’ve ever seen. As dusk fell and the lights came on, surrounded by mud, I thought, ‘I want people to feel what I’m feeling right now.'” That enchanting feeling became his North Star for storytelling. “It’s special to see a place like that. If it moves you, you might want to come and see it for yourself.”

Marks adds, “We felt the emotion of the people in the park who made this – from the top executives to the ride engineer who inspected the coaster. There was a huge amount of emotion surrounding it all. If we could capture that emotion, we could tap into the emotions of the viewers, so they could feel why people spend years creating these parks. Hopefully it would encourage people to come and see it all in person.”

With its first anniversary just around the corner, Epic Universe has proven to be a huge success. The park reportedly cost $7.7 billion to build, but thousands of people were involved in bringing the 750-acre park to life.

Is Marks planning to do a sequel? He has not yet been asked and he admits that the documentary was ‘quite an undertaking’. Still, he reminds audiences that Epic Universe is an immersive storyworld. “These places that tell these stories are the stories in themselves.”