The Gorillaz are a unique band who have managed to market themselves in a rather distinct way that allows them to stand out in the landscape of the modern music industry. Since their inception in the early 2000s, the band has continued to exist exclusively in their animated form, consisting of four animated characters as opposed to real people. While the genius behind the band is no secret, this concept has allowed the band to reside in a unique lane that other artists would struggle to find a direction in and further their pursuits as The Gorillaz. Now, the band looks to take this a step further, having come to terms with Netflix to produce the first ever Gorillaz animated film.
This is certainly not the first attempt to take The Gorillaz to the big screen. An animated series has been discussed as recently as 2017, and a previous attempt by Dreamworks to bring the Gorillaz to film struggled to ever take off. Damon Albarn, one of the creative geniuses behind The Gorillaz, has shed some light on why that may be while discussing the band’s deal with Netflix: “Well, we are supposed to be making a film… We signed contracts, we’ve begun scripts and stuff. Making an animated film that’s kind of abstract is quite a big risk for a movie studio because they’re very expensive.” An expensive and daunting task to say the least, but if any band is creative enough to do it, it is difficult to imagine another group being better positioned than The Gorillaz currently are.
Though previous attempts to bring the band to fan’s screens might have struggled to ever materialize previously, the world is in a substantially different place than when the band first debuted with their self-titled album in 2001. Not only has technology improved substantially, but the demand for on-demand streaming content is higher than ever in light of the COVID pandemic. As a result, The Gorillaz may be in better position than they ever have been to make this lofty venture work. Only time can tell, but if anyone is equipped to bring this concept to life, who better than The Gorillaz? Though no details can be confirmed regarding the upcoming project as the band’s lead just confirmed the project’s existence as of recently, fans are sure to be salivating at the first chance to see The Gorillaz on the big screen, and that could potentially be as early as next year.
