Damon Albarn Says a "Kind of Abstract" Gorillaz Film Is in the Works

He also spoke to the possibility of a 'Plastic Beach' sequel

BY Calum SlingerlandPublished Oct 27, 2020

It was only last year that Gorillaz shared immersive documentary Reject False Icons, but Damon Albarn now says the cartoon characters will soon star in an animated film of their own.

Albarn shared news of the project in an interview with Radio.com. He explained, "Well, we are supposed to be making a film while we're doing Season 2 [of Song Machine]... We signed contracts, we've begun scripts and stuff."

While Reject False Icons chronicled the making of 2017's Humanz2018's The Now Now and their respective toursAlbarn described the new film as "kind of abstract," explaining how it "is quite a big risk for a movie studio because they're very expensive."

"If you're telling a slightly obtuse story that only sometimes makes any sense, it's quite difficult. That's what we've discovered," he said. "We will do it, we are doing it...I see a lot of people doing animated videos these days but I don't think they really touch the quality of ours."

It isn't the first time Albarn and Jamie Hewlett have considered taking their animated band to the big screen. In 2006, Hewlett told Scotland's The Big Issue the pair were planning a film project following the success of 2001's self-titled debut.

However, "We lost all interest in doing it as soon as we started meeting with studios and talking to these Hollywood executive types, we just weren't on the same page," Hewlett explained. "We said, 'fuck it,' we'll sit on the idea until we can do it ourselves, and maybe even raise the money ourselves."

In 2007, Albarn had talked about work on a Gorillaz film with Monty Python's Terry Gilliam, though the project ultimately never came to fruition.

Albarn also spoke to Radio.com about a potential sequel to Plastic Beach, sharing how there are still "loads and loads of songs" related to that effort's environmental concepts. The third Gorillaz studio album turned 10 earlier this year. 

"I think sadly, more than ever the need to keep reminding people that we need to change our habits; to somehow help our climate is really necessary," Albarn expressed. "So maybe I need to revisit it, really. I don't think we can ever leave Plastic Beach. I'd like to just have an album called Clean Beach, but at the moment it's still Plastic Beach. So Plastic Beach 2 is a nice idea for me creatively but it's also really depressing...but it's necessary."

The latest Gorillaz release, Song Machine: Season One — Strange Timez, is out now through Warner. It features contributions from ScHoolboy QOctavianNew Order's Peter Hook and more.

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