Gorillaz creator Damon Albarn has confirmed that a feature-length film based on the virtual band is in the works at Netflix.
Albarn previously announced that a “kind of abstract” animated project was on the way, saying in October last year that it was planned to arrive alongside the second iteration of the band’s star-studded Song Machine project.
“We signed contracts, we’ve begun scripts and stuff,” he said at the time. “Making an animated film that’s kind of abstract is quite a big risk for a movie studio because they’re very expensive.” He also hinted that the film will tell “a slightly obtuse, weird story that only sometimes makes any sense”, and compared Gorillaz visuals to something “more in the world of Studio Ghibli” than other contemporary animations.
Now, during an interview with Apple Music — to promote his new album, The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows — Albarn has shared where he’s up to on the Gorillaz film, which is currently being written and produced in collaboration with Netflix.
“I’m at Netflix because we’re making a full-length Gorillaz film,” the musician explains. “We’re having a writing session in Malibu this afternoon. It’s really exciting to do that. 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.”
On the streaming giant that’s set to host the Gorillaz film, he adds: “Apart from them kind of running this city now, I mean, it’s just extraordinary to see how ubiquitous they are now. Yeah. They just seem like they’re a good creative team, you know?”
“But I can’t say anything more about it, obviously.”
Back in August this year, Gorillaz followed Song Machine with a surprise EP, Meanwhile, that paid tribute to Black British culture and the (then-cancelled) Notting Hill Carnival. Earlier this month, meanwhile, the band announced an expansive reissue of its self-titled debut album with artwork from Jamie Hewlett, and a one-off cinema screening of Song Machine Live.
Watch a short clip from Damon Albarn’s Apple Music interview below.