We’ve all been wondering what Spike Jonze has been up to, his last film was the 2013 masterpiece “Her.” Since his debut, 1999’s “Being John Malkovich,” Jonze has only directed four movies in 24 years.
That absentee film streak will likely continue, but not without Jonze dabbling into a Netflix endeavour. We had already reported that he was working on a limited series with Netflix, but I’m hearing a few more things now.
The series has a set two-season run planned and is being described as a “sci-fi epic,” starring Joaquin Phoenix. A fall shoot had been planned before the strike put a damper on things.
Jonze has actually been developing this thing for a few years now and it’s been in pre-production since 2022. Puck had reported last July that Jonze was set to direct this ambitious project for Netflix:
“Spike Jonze, one of my favourite filmmakers, is quietly working on a lavish series at Netflix that hasn’t been announced yet, but which has a writers room and a broad, expansive canvas.”
Our friends over at What’s On Netflix had also reported on this new Jonze project, which is currently waiting for the strike to end before it embarks into production. This is said to be Phoenix’ next project.
Inject this one straight into my veins, immediately. I don’t care what it’s about or the format that it’s told in, but, if Jonze is being given a big budget to splatter his wild vision on-screen, then that’s more than enough to have this one high up on our 2024 must-see list.
Earlier in the year, Daniel Richtman had reported that Jonze was working on another Netflix project, this one an animated series. No further details were divulged, but I’m being told it might be based on Arcade Fire’s album “The Suburbs.”
As mentioned, Jonze has directed only four films in his movie career: 1999’s “Being John Malkovich,” 2002’s “Adaptation,” 2009’s “Where the Wild Things Are” and 2013’s “Her.”
So, it seems as though Jonze has found the creative freedom that he wants through Netflix. A lot of noted directors are doing just that, with studios as cautious as ever in bankrolling risk-taking films.