Gorillaz Movie Cancelled By Netflix

In 2020, Gorillaz' Damon Albarn revealed that he had "written scripts" and "signed contracts" for a film about the virtual band. 

For some time now, however, it's been looking unlikely that the film would be released on Netflix, its intended home, as the television and movie streaming giant has made significant budget cuts in the animation department.

In a new interview with the Belgian publication HUMO and transcribed by Stereogum, Albarn has confirmed that the movie "will never happen".

"The new record [Cracker Island, out this Friday] came about because Jamie and I were often in Los Angeles. We were working on a Gorillaz feature film, which will never happen," Albarn shared. When he was quizzed on whether or not the movie was "permanently suspended," the singer and composer replied,

Yes. That is to say, and without naming names because the whole matter has not yet been settled: the streaming platform for which we were making the film has withdrawn. They started to panic because they were making too much content and decided to cut back on their movie offerings. And, as has been classic Hollywood practice for decades, the guy we were working with has moved on to another company. From then on you have lost your guardian angel, and there seems to be a bad smell hanging on you. Hollywood is quite territorial: if a new guy comes along, he must and will have a different opinion, even if he secretly agrees with his predecessor.

In a 2020 Radio.com interview where Albarn mentioned the film, he 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. If you’re telling a slightly obtuse story that only sometimes makes any sense, it’s quite difficult. That’s what we’ve discovered."

Last year, Gorillaz released the title track to their new album and encouraged fans to join a cult via a weird website. It read, "The world’s biggest virtual band have relocated to Silverlake, California where it turns out that the answer to life’s question – the one truth to fix the world - is to invite fans to join ‘The Last Cult’, with Murdoc as it’s self-appointed Great Leader." 

You can join the cult by entering your email address into the above website. 2D said, “It’s nice to be back; I’m well into our new tune; it brings back weird and scary memories of stuff that hasn’t happened yet.”

Pre-order Cracker Island here.