Following last month's news that Laika are adding to their stop-motion slate with Susanne Clark adaptation Piranesi, this month sees the addition of another live-action film to the Oregon outfit's ever-expanding pipeline. Today, the studio behind Coraline, Kubo And The Two Strings, and the upcoming Wildwood announced that they've acquired Crumble, the latest film from No One Will Save You writer-director Brian Duffield.
Set to be produced by prolific Into The Spider-Verse and The Afterparty duo Phil Lord and Chris Miller, Duffield's new movie centres around a married couple who find themselves on a globe-trotting adventure in pursuit of the cure for an ancient curse. No further plot details or casting info has been revealed at this time, but given the smartly subversive nature of Duffield's last film — and his reputation for toying with expectations as the writer of the likes of Love And Monsters, Underwater, and The Babysitter — you can be sure there'll be a wrinkle or two to this already eyebrow-raising set-up.
“We’re so excited to partner with Brian and the entire team at Lord Miller on this special film,” Laika’s president of live action film and series Matt Levin said in a statement accompanying the movie's announcement. “Brian has such a singular voice and Crumble perfectly embodies the bold, emotional and inventive storytelling that we champion at Laika. Lord Miller is in a class of its own, and we could not ask for a better creative team to bring this story to life.”
Added Duffield with his own statement: “I’ll never forget seeing Coraline on opening night at the AMC Burbank 16 and wondering who these wonderful new geniuses were. I can’t wait to make a movie with them and hopefully live up to their banner, and I couldn’t be more excited to get to go on a new adventure with my friends at Lord Miller.”
With Wildwood just a year away, and a new exhibition on the studio heading to the BFI next month, it's a busy time for Travis Knight's company. Plus, alongside Crumble and Piranesi, Laika still have neo-noir folk tale The Night Gardener and live-action lethal hitman debut Seventeen in the works, too. Stop-motion? More like can't-stop-won't-stop-motion, eh? Eh?