The virtual band Gorillaz has been one of the driving forces in rock music and genre-fusion over the last twenty years. Consisting of four fictional musicians – 2-D, Murdoc Niccals, Russel Hobbs and Noodle – the band is the brainchild of the real musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett. While Albarn, also the frontman of the legendary Britpop band Blur, is responsible for crafting the musical identity of Gorillaz, Hewlett handles all the visuals, story, and other artistic endeavors that have branched off the animated band. On top of their early breakout singles “Clint Eastwood” and “Feel Good Inc.”, Gorillaz have built a dedicated fan base and continue to find great success with each new record. Their most recent album, Cracker Island, debuted atop the charts and marked the band’s first Number 1 album since 2005’s Demon Days.
Considering how prominent a role the visuals and story play in the overall presentation of Gorillaz, it’s somewhat surprising that there hasn’t been a film or animated series involving the group. While fans have gotten a taste of what a Gorillaz film could feel like through the band’s numerous eccentric music videos, Albarn and Hewlett have aspired to bring a Gorillaz movie or series to life for a while now. The idea for a film centered on the virtual band has been bouncing around essentially since the group’s debut in 2001. Several studios have expressed interest in the project over the years, yet it has never actually made it to screens. Here’s what we know about why that is:
The Developmental Rollercoaster
After the self-titled debut Gorillaz record was released in 2001, Hewlett and Albarn were already interested in developing a Gorillaz film. Off the success of singles like “Clint Eastwood” and “19-2000,” there was a ton of international interest in Gorillaz. The animated personas of the band captured audiences' imaginations and the music videos that accompanied the debut record became just as well-known as the songs they were produced for. In an attempt to build on this success, there were three different scripts that were written for a potential Gorillaz film. A few different animation studios, such as Dreamworks, were interested in producing the films, but those deals ultimately fell through.
One script in particular, for a film titled Celebrity Harvest, made it further into development than the others. The film was teased through multiple channels, with the title being revealed in materials released alongside Blur’s seventh album, Think Tank. Eventually, the film’s development stalled and several ideas for it were reworked into the art and music for the band's second album, Demon Days. Shortly after, a script for another Gorillaz movie was written, which would have drawn inspiration from the Chinese novel Journey To The West. Eventually, Albarn and Hewlett turned this idea into a stage adaptation of the story, titled Monkey: Journey to the West, which wasn’t technically a Gorillaz project but is generally considered to be adjacent material to the virtual band. As the years went on, there would be several other instances of a Gorillaz film or series being put into development, but none of those projects actually came to fruition.
Netflix Enters the Picture
The most hope for a Gorillaz film came in 2020 when Albarn confirmed that a deal had been reached for the film's production at Netflix. At the time, the band was coming off its seventh studio album, Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez, which was meant to be the start of a new collaborative series for the band. Albarn said that the plan was to produce the film alongside Song Machine, Season Two, and that he and Hewlett had begun writing the scripts and working on the film in earnest. Things seemed to be going smoothly for the Netflix film, as a year later Albarn continued to discuss the film and promise that it was actively being produced.
However, there was some doubt in the air about the project as time continued to pass without an update. On top of that, Gorillaz announced their next album, which unexpectedly wasn’t another installment of the Song Machine series, but rather was the newly-released Cracker Island. Albarn stated that several of the tracks on the new record, such as “Tormenta” featuring Bad Bunny, were intended for Song Machine, Season Two but were reworked to fit Cracker Island instead. Then, a week before the new record was released, Albarn confirmed what fans had started to assume; the Gorillaz film at Netflix was no more. The musician elaborated, saying that the studio had pulled out of the project as part of its larger decision to produce a less absurd amount of content. The real nail in the coffin of this iteration of a Gorillaz film came with Albarn’s statement that “We were working on a Gorillaz feature film, which will never happen.”
Could It Still Be in the Cards?
With all the hurdles that have been in the way of a Gorillaz movie over the years, it’s easy to get discouraged about whether such a film will ever actually happen. The cancelation of the Netflix film is the biggest setback that the movie has had in a while. That means that fans should not expect a Gorillaz movie anytime soon. The concept has likely been set back to day one, and if another studio should come along to pick up the movie, it will probably have to be completely restarted and rewritten from the ground up.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that a Gorillaz movie will never happen though. Considering Albarn and Hewlitt’s consistent desire to produce a Gorillaz film over the last twenty years, it’s safe to assume that they are still open to the idea and interested in producing a movie about the eclectic animated band. With the success of Cracker Island and Song Machine, Season One, the band is in the best spot now that it has been in quite some time. Interest in the fictional group and its music is surging, which makes the possibility of a feature film based on the band more probable than might otherwise be expected. A Gorillaz film certainly won’t be released in the next few years, as Albarn is set to tour with Blur this summer, which will probably be followed by a Gorillaz tour to support Cracker Island. So Albarn and Hewlett have their hands full for the imminent future. But beyond that, who knows what could happen?