We have learned that Gore Verbinski is set to direct his next film for Netflix, a new animated feature film.

Sources say that it will be a CG animated film, one source adds that the concept of the film will be an original idea from Verbinski. He will also produce the film.

Gore Verbinski is known for directing films such as ‘The Mexican’, ‘The Ring’, ‘The Weather Man’, ‘The Lone Ranger’ and the first three entries into the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ franchise including ‘The Curse of the Black Pearl’, ‘Dead Man’s Chest’ and ‘At World’s End’.

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His most recent feature film was ‘A Cure for Wellness’ which was released back in 2016, that film is now available on Netflix and follows an executive who is sent to a wellness spa in the Swiss Alps to retrieve his company’s CEO. At the centre, he encounters strange activities that make him investigate the illness of the people.

Verbinski was also attached to direct the infamous ‘Gambit’ film for 20th Century Fox at one point, however he dropped out of the film which was cancelled following the Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox. Before the ‘Gambit’ film, the directing reigns had been handed over to Channing Tatum and Reid Carolin, Carolin wrote the screenplay for the film and Tatum would have starred as the titular character.

His upcoming CG animated film can be best compared to ‘Rango’, his first CG animation film which starred Johnny Depp and followed Rango, a pet chameleon who aspires to be a hero, as he lands in a drought-affected town plagued by bandits. He claims to be the saviour and makes an attempt to protect it. ‘Rango’ was met with very positive praise as the film currenty holds 88% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.2/10 on IMDb and 75% on Metacritic, the film also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature.

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There is no word currently on when to expect this film to release, especially in the current circumstances of the coronavirus pandemic however, it seems that animation development for the film may have been in the works since sometime last year.

Here is an excerpt from Vanity Fair’s interview with Gore Verbinski about CG animation on ‘Rango’ following the film’s Best Animated Feature nomination:

“John Lopez: Was it difficult switching from live action to computer animation? Gore Verbinski: In some ways it wasn’t that difficult because we do so much computer animation on these big action-adventure movies. The big challenge was you have to stop thinking about it as a series of shots and really work with the animators, treat them like actors, and try to get a performance out of them. There’s an appetite there because they’re so talented, yet they spend so much of their time animating a bus exploding. [And] you have to manufacture everything. On a live-action movie, things happen that are unexpected. In animation, you have to fabricate the feeling. That takes a tremendous amount of nuance until the film becomes sentient and gives back.”

Follow EIC Jacob Fisher on Twitter: @CinematicBanter

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