Sep 2, 2022

Gore Verbinski, director of "Rango," dropped "Catty Wumps" from Netflix.

"Cattywumpus," directed by "Rango" director Gore Verbinski, will no longer be produced on Netflix, Deadline reported.

According to the report, which cites sources close to the project, Netflix is no longer the home of this half-baked film about a cat in space, but has allowed the creative team behind Cattywumpus to find a new studio where they can complete the work The company says it is doing so. News of the project's move to Netflix was first reported on the web in the spring of 2020.

While this type of development is not uncommon, it is especially noteworthy when top-level talent is involved. Verbinski's films have grossed over $3.75 billion at the box office and boast such blockbusters as the three "Pirates of the Caribbean" films, "The Lone Ranger," the US remake of "The Ring" and "The Mexican" starring Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts. His last theatrically released feature film was 2016's A Cure for Wellness. This middling film by such a prolific and profitable filmmaker is likely to garner a lot of attention in the open market.

Netflix has been on the other side of this situation in the past, having just announced this year that it has purchased the half-finished Nimona feature. The film was being produced at Blue Sky Studios when Disney acquired Blue Sky Studios as part of its acquisition of Fox. Disney subsequently closed Blue Sky and halted production on the film adaptation of ND Stevenson's graphic novel. Now being produced by Netflix and Annapurna Pictures ("The Missing Link," "Sausage Party"), DNEG ("Ron's Gone Wrong") is bringing Blue Sky veteran and "Spies in Disguise" director Nick Bruno and Troy Quayne at the helm, the London studio is producing the animation.

Despite a rough start to 2022, Netflix animation now seems to be heading in a more favorable direction. In the coming months, Netflix will premiere three original animated features at festivals: Henry Selick's "Wendell & Wild," Nora Toomey's "My Father's Dragon," and Guillermo del Toro's "Pinocchio." In addition, Stephen Donnelly's "Scrooge: A Christmas Carol" will be released theatrically in November before streaming in early December.

A possible factor in the streamer's decision to drop Cattywumpus is that the people who originally commissioned the film are no longer the decision makers at the company. This summer, the streaming distribution company revamped its animation executive structure by promoting Karen Tolliver to lead the animated film team. Former VPs Melissa Cobb and Greg Taylor have moved into producer roles, and VP of animation production operations Bruce Deitch has left the company.

Pictured above: "Rango" [13]