A Gorillaz movie is finally in the works, with co-creator Damon Albarn confirming he’s working on a new feature-length project with Netflix.
During an interview with Apple Music, frontman Damon Albarn revealed that the animated band Gorillaz is working with Netflix on a new movie, which is currently in the writing phase:
“I'm at Netflix because we’re making a full-length Gorillaz film with Netflix,” he said. “We’re having a writing session in Malibu this afternoon.”
“I’m in LA because we’re making a full-length @gorillaz film with Netflix. We’re having a writing session in Malibu this afternoon…” 👀 pic.twitter.com/Q1bRcMyz2s
— Damon Albarn Unofficial (@DamonUnofficial) November 10, 2021
Now, it looks as though Gorillaz is getting another shot to make a movie. And it’s already gathering momentum as Albarn confirms that they’re in the process of writing it. “It’s really exciting to do that,” added Albarn. “It’s something we’ve been wanting to do for a very long time. It’s been through so many incarnations, Gorillaz doing a movie, honestly.”
As Albarn mentions, this isn’t the first time Gorillaz has explored a film or TV project. In 2017, co-creator Jamie Hewlett said that a ten-episode animated series was in the works, which has presumably now been canned. Hewlett also revealed that an animated film was previously in the works with Dreamworks, but that project was ultimately cancelled because “it was too dark to spend a couple of hundred million dollars on.”
Gorillaz, which is represented by animated characters rather than real-life musicians, consists of 2-D, Murdoc, Russel, and Noodle – voiced on their albums by Damon Albarn, Phil Cornwell, Remi Kabaka Jr. and guests.
As for why the movie has ultimately gone to Netflix, it looks as though the band’s co-creator feels it’s a good match for the project. “Netflix, I don’t know,” said Albarn. “Apart from them kind of running [LA] now, […] they just seem like they’re a 'good creative team', you know?”
Little else is known about the upcoming film and a release date has not yet been set – Albarn himself refused to say more in the interview.
Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.