Netflix is making a Gorillaz film, the news was confirmed by the creator of Gorillaz, Damon Albarn during an interview with Apple Music. Gorillaz is a virtual band, which was created by singer-songwriter Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett in 1998. The band has its own animated characters with their own fictional universe and stories, told through Gorillaz’s music videos.
Albarn said this during the interview:
“I’m at Netflix because we’re making a full-length Gorillaz film with Netflix. 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…this Gorillaz doing a movie. Honestly.”
Albarn had already confirmed the film back in October 2020, in an interview with Radio.com, saying that they had “signed contracts” and “begun scripts,” but he also said that “making an animated film that’s kind of abstract is quite a big risk for a movie studio because they’re very expensive.”
Albarn then said: “I see a lot of people doing animated videos these days, but I don’t think they really touch the quality of ours. We’re more in the world of Studio Ghibli.”
Hewlett’s characters in Gorillaz have appeared both in 2D and CG animation, and they have had a huge impact on the character design in animated films, shows, comics, and video games. Their music has also been used in many successful films and shows like Trolls, How to Lose a Guy in 10 days, and Netflix’s teen drama Outer Banks.
Gorillaz’s most recent music album titled “Song Machine: Season One” was released in October of last year. The release date for the upcoming Gorillaz film has not been announced yet.