Damon Albarn reveals that the Netflix film on Gorillaz has been cancelled

Gorillaz co-founder lays out the reasons why Netflix cancelled the film.

This news is beyond heartbreaking if you were expecting a full-length animated Gorillaz movie on Netflix. Damon Albarn has revealed that Netflix has cancelled the project due to alleged cost-cutting and staffing issues, confirming that the film will never happen.

Rumours of the creation of the film began in 2020 and were confirmed in 2021 in an interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music. In that conversation, Damon Albarn, the band’s spokesman, claimed they were writing the film and further commented that:

“It’s been through so many incarnations…this Gorillaz doing a movie. Honestly. But Netflix, I don’t know. I mean, apart from them kind of running this city now, I mean – it’s just extraordinary to see how ubiquitous they are now. Yeah. They just seem like they’re a good creative team, you know?”

Now, a dozen and a half months later, Damon Albarn confirms that this partnership with Netflix is no longer happening. The announcement was made to the Belgian publication HUMO, in a piece about his career with the Gorillaz and other projects. The article reads as follows:

“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names because the whole matter has not yet been settled: the streaming platform for which we were making the film has withdrawn.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,”

Damon Albarn further adds that:

“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.”

News of the film’s cancellation comes just days before the release of the Gorillaz’s highly anticipated new album ‘Cracker Island‘, due out this Friday, February 24.

Image Credit: Warner Music Australia