# Cube (film series)

Cube is a Canadian science fiction horror film series. The films were directed by Vincenzo Natali, Andrzej Sekuła, Ernie Barbarash and Yasuhiko Shimizu respectively.
The films are centered, with slight variations, on the same science-fictional setting: a gigantic, mechanized cubical structure of unknown purpose and origin, made up of numerous smaller cubical rooms, in which most or all of the principal characters inexplicably awaken in the opening scenes. Each of these rooms has six heavy vault doors, one on each face of the cube, which lead into adjacent, largely identical rooms, differing occasionally by colour of lighting. Some of these rooms are "safe", while others are equipped with deadly booby traps such as flamethrowers and razorwire. In some cases it is possible to detect a trap by throwing an object into the room first, although this method is not always reliable due to the trigger mechanism of certain traps.
In each case, a group of strangers awakens in this mysterious structure, without any knowledge of how or why they are there. In order to escape from the prison, they must band together and use their combined skills and talents to avoid the traps and navigate out of the maze, while also trying to solve the mystery of what the cube is and why they are in it.
An American remake, currently on hold, is in development at Lionsgate, and a Japanese produced remake was released in 2021.

## Films
### Cube (1997)

Cube, the first film in the series, follows a group of seven frightened strangers who find themselves trapped in a bizarre maze of cubical rooms, with no memory of how they arrived there. Searching for a way out, they soon discover that many rooms contain lethal booby traps, while others are safe. Initially the prisoners band together in an attempt to escape, but one of the prisoners then begins to turn insane and threatens the group's escape. Despite the film's low budget, it achieved moderate commercial success and has developed a cult following due to its surreal, Kafkaesque setting.

### Cube 2: Hypercube (2002)

Cube 2: Hypercube is a sequel to the film Cube. The dusky, dingy rooms of the first film are replaced with high-tech, brightly lit rooms, and the conventional technology of the original traps are replaced with threats based on abstract mathematics. A new group of prisoners quickly discovers that, unlike the original Cube, the rooms in their prison appear to shift instantaneously. They realize they are inside a hypercube in which gravity, space, and time are distorted. This time the prisoners each have a connection to the cube's suggested creator.

### Cube Zero (2004)

Cube Zero is a prequel to the film Cube. Unlike the first two films, which were limited to the prisoners' point of view, the film concerns two characters, Eric Wynn and Dodd, who are technicians observing the prisoners. Wynn finds himself caring about the fate of Cassandra Rains, a woman in the Cube, and decides to risk his job and even his life to help her try to escape. The rooms are similar to the original film, except that the colors are not as bright as in the first film.

### Cube (2021)

A Japanese remake, also called Cube, was released in October 2021.

### Future

In 2011, Lionsgate was reported to be taking pitches for a new film titled Cube 3D, though nothing came of the effort.
In April 2015, The Hollywood Reporter wrote that Lionsgate Films was planning to remake the film, under the title Cubed, with Saman Kesh directing, Roy Lee and Jon Spaihts producing and a screenplay by Philip Gawthorne, based on Kesh's original take. Development on the film stalled the following year, leaving its future uncertain.

## Cast and crew
### Principal cast

| Character | Original series | Original series | Original series | Remake |
| Character | Cube | Cube 2: Hypercube | Cube Zero | Cube |
| Character | 1997 | 2002 | 2004 | 2021 |
| Kazan | Andrew Miller | | Zachary Bennett (as Eric Wynn) | Hikaru Tashiro (as Chio Uno) |
| Quentin McNeil | Maurice Dean Wint | | | Takumi Saito (as Hiroshi Ide) |
| Joan Leaven | Nicole de Boer | | | Anne Watanabe (as Asako Kai) |
| David Worth | David Hewlett | | | Masaki Suda (as Yuichi Goto) |
| Dr. Helen Holloway | Nicky Guadagni | | | Masaki Okada (as Shinji Ochi) |
| Rennes | Wayne Robson | | | Kōtarō Yoshida (as Kazumasa Ando) |
| Alderson | Julian Richings | | | Tokio Emoto (as First Man) |
| Kate Filmore | | Kari Matchett | | |
| Simon Grady | | Geraint Wyn Davies | | |
| Sasha / Alex Trusk | | Grace Lynn Kung | | |
| Jerry Whitehall | | Neil Crone | | |
| Max Riesler | | Matthew Ferguson | | |
| Colonel Thomas H. Maguire | | Bruce Gray | | |
| Mrs. Paley | | Barbara Gordon | | |
| The General | | Philip Akin | | |
| Julia Sewell | | Lindsey Connell | | |
| Becky Young | | Greer Kent | | |
| Dr. Phil Rosenzweig | | Andrew Scorer | | |
| Tracton | | Paul Robbins | | |
| Dodd | | | David Huband | |
| Cassandra Rains | | | Stephanie Moore | |
| Jax | | | Michael Riley | |
| Meyerhold | | | Mike "Nug" Nahrgang | |
| Jellico | | | Terri Hawkes | |
| Ryjkin | | | Jasmin Geljo | |
| Quigley | | | Diego Klattenhoff | |
| Robert P. Haskell | | | Martin Roach | |
| Bartok | | | Richard McMillan | |
| Owen | | | Tony Munch | |
| Finn | | | Joshua Peace | |
| Anna | | | Alexia Filippeos | |
| Male Doctor | | | Fernando Cursione | |
| Female Doctor | | | Araxi Arslanian | |
| Hiroto Goto | | | | Soma Santoki |

## Prisoners details in each film
### Cube (1997)

| Name | Occupation | Gender | Prison connection | Played by |
| Kazan | Unknown, possibly former cube technician | Male | Kazan prison in Russia | Andrew Miller |
| David Worth | Architect | Male | Leavenworth Prison in the U.S.A. | David Hewlett |
| Quentin McNeil | Police officer | Male | San Quentin State Prison in the U.S.A. | Maurice Dean Wint |
| Joan Leaven | Mathematics student | Female | Leavenworth Prison in the U.S.A. | Nicole de Boer |
| Dr. Helen Holloway | Free clinic doctor | Female | Holloway Women's Prison in the U.K. | Nicky Guadagni |
| Rennes | Prison escapist | Male | Centre pénitentiaire de Rennes in France | Wayne Robson |
| Alderson | Unknown | Male | Alderson Federal Prison Camp in the U.S.A. | Julian Richings |

### Cube 2: Hypercube

| Name | Occupation | Gender | Played by |
| Kate Filmore | Psychotherapist / Soldier | Female | Kari Matchett |
| Simon Grady | Private detective | Male | Geraint Wyn Davies |
| Alexandra "Sasha" Trusk | Computer hacker | Female | Grace Lynn Kung |
| Rebecca "Becky" Young | IZON technician | Female | Greer Kent |
| Julia Sewell | Attorney | Female | Lindsey Connell |
| Max Reisler | Computer game designer | Male | Matthew Ferguson |
| Mrs. Paley | Retired theoretical mathematician | Female | Barbara Gordon |
| Jerry Whitehall | Engineer | Male | Neil Crone |
| Colonel Thomas H. Maguire | Colonel | Male | Bruce Gray |
| Dr. Phil Rosenzweig | Scientist / Author / Nobel Prize nominee | Male | Andrew Scorer |

### Cube Zero

| Name | Occupation | Gender | Played by |
| Eric Wynn | Junior cube technician | Male | Zachary Bennett |
| Dodd | Senior cube technician | Male | David Huband |
| Owen | Senior cube technician | Male | Tony Munch |
| Chickliss | Junior cube technician | Male | N/A |
| Cassandra Rains | Political protester | Female | Stephanie Moore |
| Jax | Senior cube supervisor | Male | Michael Riley |
| Robert P. Haskell | Cube soldier | Male | Martin Roach |
| Meyerhold | Unknown | Male | Mike "Nug" Nahrgang |
| Jellico | Unknown | Female | Terri Hawkes |
| Bartok | Unknown | Male | Richard McMillan |
| Ryjkin | Unknown | Male | Jasmin Geljo |
| Chandler | Unknown, possibly doctor | Female | Sandi Ross |
| Smith | Unknown | Male | Dino Bellisario |
| McCaw | Unknown | Female | Ashley James |

### Cube (2021)

| Name | Occupation | Gender | Age | Played by |
| Yuichi Goto | Engineer | Male | 29 | Masaki Suda |
| Asako Kai | Staff employee | Female | 37 | Anne Watanabe |
| Shinji Ochi | Freeter | Male | 31 | Masaki Okada |
| Chio Uno | Middle school student | Male | 13 | Hikaru Tashiro |
| First Man | Prisoner | Male | Unknown | Tokio Emoto |
| Hiroshi Ide | Mechanic | Male | 41 | Takumi Saito |
| Kazumasa Ando | Company executive | Male | 61 | Kōtarō Yoshida |