In 2015, the prolific director Charlie Kaufman, known for his eccentric approach to filmmaking, released “Anomalisa,” an animated film that demonstrated Kaufman’s mastery in this realm and even earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature. Now, following his recent collaboration with Netflix on the peculiar film “I’m Thinking of Ending Things,” Kaufman announces his return to animation.
“Orion and the Dark” will be Charlie Kaufman’s next film, and it will be animated. The movie is set to premiere on Netflix, but the production will not be solely handled by the streaming platform. Dreamworks, the studio behind the film, has reached an agreement with Netflix to develop it. The release is scheduled for 2024, although a specific date has not been announced yet.
A new film by Charlie Kaufman
Although Charlie Kaufman is the screenwriter for “Orion and the Dark,” he will not be directing the film. This time, Sean Charmatz will take the helm of the feature, with Peter McCown serving as the producer. The other executive producers of the film are Walt Dohrn and Bonnie Arnold.
Regarding the voice cast in the original language, it has been announced that actors Jacob Tremblay will voice Orion, and Paul Walter Hauser will voice Dark. The movie is based on a book by writer Emma Yarlett, making it a direct adaptation. But what will the film be about exactly?
According to what has been revealed by Dreamworks, the story follows Orion, a shy, quiet, and unassuming boy who harbors a secret love within himself. Underneath his exterior, Orion also carries great anxiety: he is afraid of bees, dogs, the ocean, mobile phone waves, killer clowns, and falling off a cliff.
“Orion and the Dark” explores a fear that is much greater than the others for Orion: the fear of darkness. One night, his greatest fear manifests in physical form when Dark pays him a visit. Dark takes Orion on a whirlwind journey around the world on a roller coaster, with a clear objective in mind: to help Orion overcome his fear of the night. As the peculiar duo gets to know each other, Orion must decide if he can learn to embrace the unknown, to let go of fear that controls his life, and to embrace the joy of living.
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