Taika Waititihas exited as the director of Netflix’s stop-motion animated movieBubbles, which tells the story ofMichael Jackson’s longtime chimpanzee, and Collider has confirmed that Netflix has pulled out of the project as well.
Cartoon Brewbroke the news, reporting that scheduling conflicts with WB’sAkiraforced Waititi to exitBubbles, and with the director no longer involved, Netflix also decided to step away. An individual familiar with the streaming service’s thinking told Collider that “Taika didn’t have the bandwidth to devote to it, and since he was the big draw, it didn’t make sense to continue with another director. The producers are figuring out next steps.” Pre-production had been well under way atDan Harmon’s Starburns Industries, which produced the Oscar-nominated featureAnomalisaand referred all press inquiries regardingBubblesto Netflix.
According to Cartoon Brew, roughly two dozen people working on the film’s puppets and animation tests have already been let go, adding that some who were laid off recently turned down work on other stop motion projects for Netflix, includingGuillermo del Toro’sPinocchioandHenry Selick’sWendell and Wild.
Netflix acquiredBubblesfor a reported $20 million back in 2017 and its executives were excited by the idea of working with Waititi, who was red-hot coming off of Marvel’sThor: Ragnarok. According to Cartoon Brew, Waititi’s exit prompted Netflix to get cold feet, though there may be another reason behind the streamer’s decision to pull the plug.
Just two months ago, HBO aired the disturbing documentaryLeaving Neverland, which followed two men who claimed that Jackson sexually abused them as children. Since then, the world has struggled to reconcile their devastating stories with his public image and iconic music. It’s no surprise that Netflix, or any other company, for that matter, would have second thoughts regarding an animated movie featuring Jackson as a key character.Bubbleswas an acclaimed script byIsaac Adamsonthat topped the 2015 Black List, and while it isn’taboutJackson per se, the singer’s shadow would undoubtedly loom large over the story.
