Newcago’s catacombs were actually based more off of mid-eighties cyberpunk stories where you’ve often got this sort of techie underground, and I love that visual. I intentionally didn’t want to take Steelheart in a dystopian direction, even though it technically is a dystopia. I just feel that the whole “wasted world” dystopia has been done so well by so many writers that I wanted to have something that felt new and different.
When I gave Steelheart this sort of Midas power to turn Chicago into metal, I thought it would be cool to have these catacombs dug underneath it because the visual was so different and cool. The catacombs I’ve visited in various cities are, of course, awesome, but really I’m looking back at those cyberpunk books.
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