Damon Albarn has revealed why plans to make a Gorillaz film with Netflix were scrapped, and shared that it helped inspire ‘Cracker Island’.
The artist – who also fronts Blur and The Good, The Bad & The Queen – revealed back in 2020 that a film about Gorillaz was being discussed with Netflix, and said the following year that he and illustrator Jamie Hewlett had started work on it.
At the time, it was described as a “full-length movie” about the animated band. However, after two further years of delays, Albarn revealed that they had abandoned the project and told fans that “it will never happen”.
Now, the two collaborators have shared more insight into why the film was scrapped, and said that the ordeal helped inspire their eighth album, ‘Cracker Island’.
Speaking to Zane Lowe for Apple Music, Hewlett dismissed hopes of them returning to work on a Gorillaz movie, saying that he was deterred after realising how long the process takes.
“If we’d done a movie 25 years ago, fine… but the idea of doing a movie now? I have no interest in it whatsoever. No interest. It’s not an interesting idea, it’s not an original idea,” he said.
“We had this moment with Netflix where we were literally told ‘You can do whatever you want and we’re going to give you as much money [as you need]’, and we were like ‘OK great,’” he added, also sharing that while he and Albarn “had some brilliant ideas”, they began to lose interest when they noticed it was “moving so slow”.
“[Then] the guy we were working with just left, and [Netflix] said ‘Don’t worry, we’ll find someone else’. It was like ‘OK there’s going to be another year of conversations before this starts again’. So we pulled out.”
Albarn then chimed in, saying that the entire process felt like he “was hanging around for what seemed an eternity”, befpore Hewlett shared that it was at that point that they started working together on new music, which would ultimately become ‘Cracker Island’.
“We made an album while we were waiting, basically,” he said.
Back when Albarn revealed in 2023 that work on the Netflix film had come to an early end, he also said that the decision was reached after noticing cut-backs in streaming platform’s animation division.
“The streaming platform for which we were making the film has withdrawn,” he told Belgian publication HUMO at the time. “They started to panic because they were making too much content and decided to cut back on their movie offerings.”
‘Cracker Island’ was released in February 2023 and featured collaborations with Thundercat, Tame Impala, Stevie Nicks, Bad Bunny and more. It was given a four-star review from NME, and praised as “a consistently enjoyable record that shows why they remain relevant so far into their career”.
Since then, the band have gone on to share another record – the star-studded, experimental record ‘The Mountain’.
Much of that album was recorded in India during a time when both Albarn and Hewlett were looking for peace after the passing of their fathers, and the tracklist explores themes of grief, hope and spirituality.
To mark the release, Gorillaz released The Mountain, The Moon Cave & The Sad God – an eight-minute short film directed by Hewlett, alongside Max Taylor and Tim McCourt of the BAFTA-nominated animation studio THE LINE.
With nods to Disney’s The Jungle Book, the film depicts the animated band members, Murdoc, Russel, 2D and Noodle, in India having turned their backs on international pop stardom.
Like ‘Cracker Island’, ‘The Mountain’ is rich in collaborations, and featured guest appearances from Tony Allen, D12 rapper Proof, Bobby Womack, IDLES, Sparks, Yasiin Bey (FKA Mos Def), Gruff Rhys, The Clash’s Paul Simonon, Johnny Marr and more.
It was given a four-star review from NME, which described it as “an album that celebrates the love you leave behind, the people you touch, the spirit of giving more than you take, how we’re all the same when it’s done.”
Last month, Gorillaz played the first show on ‘The Mountain’ tour in Los Angeles, and earlier this month kicked off the UK and Ireland leg. Shows continue tonight (Tuesday March 31) in Belfast, followed by a stop in Dublin tomorrow (April 1), and a one-off headline show at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on June 20 – something that Albarn recently made a recent quip at.
They will also make appearances at numerous festivals over the summer, including Electric Picnic, Primavera Sound Barcelona and Porto, and Rock Werchter. Visit here for tickets.