Good morning: In today's edition of The Industry, we look at:
Taika Waititi’s rebirth, Chris McCarthy’s deal, and a rock.
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The rise, fall, and rebirth of Taika Waititi, Captain of Quirk.
With the recent announcement of Taika Waititi signing a first-look deal with 20th TV, FX, and Hulu, I thought it might be interesting to go back and chart his interesting career path.
Simply put, Waititi was a master of millennial quirk and twee sensibilities that, in the beginning, played very well in the 2010s with the still delightful What We Do in the Shadows (2014), and he fused that earnestly with dark humor in Jojo Rabbit (2019), which netted him an Oscar. In both films, he served as writer, director, producer, and co-star.
Flash forward a couple of years, riding the Marvel wave, his much-anticipated sequel to his beloved Thor: Ragnarok (2017) falls flat. Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) was a mess, but it wasn’t helped by a rapid audience change in sensibility.
Cute jokes that once got the meta tip of the hat now just fell flat with a growing cynical base that increasingly found less joy in life. I am not making the claim that Love and Thunder bombed because of cynicism, but the weak script and screaming goats got torn apart like chum in the water.
Simultaneously, he got his Star Wars project ripped out from under him (but whose hasn’t at this point).
Finding himself suddenly out of the Disney ecosystem, he went to work building up his craft and reputation both as a writer and producer.
His first big project was season 2 of HBO’s Our Flag Means Death (2022 - 2023), the delightful and downright romantic pirate comedy where he played Captain Blackbeard as well as helmed the show. (Season 1 was sadly a bit overshadowed by the Marvel fallout, even though it premiered to glowing reviews.)
He then directed two pilots, one for Hulu’s Interior Chinatown and one for Apple’s Time Bandits. Through these projects, especially Time Bandits, we got to see how Waititi would operate with whimsy and humor but tightened up a bit to better serve his characters.
Now here we are, a brand new deal inked.
His immediate slate includes Last Look, a half-hour comedy for Hulu created with HBO’s Barry writer-producer Jason Kim, following the chaotic lives inside a luxury fashion house. Now back in the fold with Disney, through sheer force of staying true to his vision and making cool stuff.
He also has FX’s Very Young Frankenstein in contention, a pilot he directed and EPed that has received strong early reactions and definitely feels like a spiritual successor to What We Do in the Shadows.
While at the time the backlash from Thor really could have killed a less strong director’s career, it appears that Waititi kind of just deftly avoided that by keeping his head down and doing what he always did. It’s hard not to look at Marvel’s current state and see him as the victor.
A good captain goes down with the ship, but a pirate captain jumps off with the spoils.
For More:
What We Do in the Shadows film trailer.
Thor: Love and Thunder trailer.
Apple TV+’s Time Bandits trailer:
THE INDUSTRY TLDR
Frozen stars Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, and Josh Gad will earn $60M each for Frozen 3 and 4.
Former Paramount Co-CEO Chris McCarthy is close to joining NBCU, potentially reuniting with Taylor Sheridan.
Amazon orders Stargate series.
MGM+ promotes Michael Wright to global head of programming and marketing.
Maria Zuckerman signs a first-look deal with Fox Entertainment Studios.
Lionsgate launches MovieSphere Gold, a digital movie network.
HBO Max acquires queer hockey romance series Heated Rivalry.
Josh Ruben (Heart Eyes) will direct Paramount’s Wilderness Reform.
Hulu and 20th Television developing C-League, a half-hour comedy.
Amazon MGM Studios picks up Compulsive Liar from The Big Sick writers.
Leslie Bibb stars in Top of the Rock, a Cold War-set crime thriller.
Jodie Foster narrates Morgan Neville’s new doc Breakdown: 1975.
Danielle Deadwyler joins A24’s The Chaperones.
DiCaprio’s Appian Way producing Oz doc.
Anton adapting video game Chained Together for film.
Thomas Bezucha is developing a sequel to The Family Stone.
R.J. Cutler is developing a doc on the 2025 Louvre jewel heist.
THE INDUSTRY NEWS
The three voice stars of Frozen, Kristen Bell (Anna), Idina Menzel (Elsa), and Josh Gad (Olaf) will make $60M/each for Frozen 3 and 4.
At $30M/film for each actor (this includes upfront and backend), this is the largest deal ever in animation voice acting. It’s also 2x what they earned for Frozen 2.
It’s a massive payday, but these are Disney’s #1 & #2 highest-grossing animated films:
Frozen 2 (2019)
$477.4 M domestic
$1.454 bn worldwide
Frozen (2013)
$400.9 M domestic
$1.31 bn worldwide
Frozen 3 releases Thanksgiving 2027.
Former Paramount Co-CEO Chris McCarthy may reunite with Taylor Sheridan at NBCU. McCarthy, who oversaw Showtime/MTV and Paramount Media Networks, was let go (severance pay: $18.3M) due to the Skydance merger.
He is now close to signing a deal with NBCU that would position him to produce Taylor Sheridan’s shows starting Jan 1, 2029, and some other shows in a similar vein earlier.
Sheridan, Paramount’s TV king, also jumped ship a couple of weeks ago. Full details here: https://theindustry.co/p/taylor-sheridans-high-water
For all of David Ellison’s spending, the consolidation of the Paramount and Skydance teams led to some inevitable exits, which pissed off talent. In Sheridan’s case, McCarthy had been his go-to executive and was one of the reasons he left for NBCU.
We’ll see if any other creators make the jump.
Five New Studio Projects. 3 series, 2 features:
Beloved sci-fi series Stargate is returning. Amazon has ordered the series headed by Martin Gero, a longtime franchise veteran and creator of Blindspot. The original Stargate series (Stargate SG-1) followed an Air Force special-operations team that used an ancient ring-shaped device, the Stargate, to travel to distant planets and defend Earth from alien threats. Each episode mixed military adventure with mythology, exploring new worlds while uncovering the secrets of ancient civilizations tied to the gate (trailer). It was known as a more grown-up military-focused Star Trek. The new show aims to honor the franchise’s legacy while expanding it for new audiences.
Amazon MGM Studios has landed Compulsive Liar, a comedy feature from Oscar-nominated The Big Sick (2017) writers Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani. The plot details are being kept under wraps, but while Nanjiani has been busy acting in blockbuster films like Eternals (2021) and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024), I feel he really thrives in the writers’ room. The Big Sick had some of the most beautiful writing I’ve seen in a “comedy” film, so something new from this writing duo is very exciting.
Heated Rivalry, the queer Canadian hockey romance series from Jacob Tierney (Letterkenny), has sold to HBO Max in the U.S. and Australia, Sky New Zealand, and Movistar Plus+ (trailer). The six-episode drama follows rival players whose secret rookie fling becomes an eight-year love story. Canadian series cross into the U.S. fairly often, but mainly when they’re genre-friendly, export-ready. This is perhaps a bit more of an artistic buy.
Hulu and 20th Television are developing C-League, a new half-hour comedy series with actor Charlie Hall (The Sex Lives of College Girls) and Barry (2018-22) producers Alec Berg and Amy Solomon. Fresh off his turn in the third installment of Netflix’s anthology series Monster: The Ed Gein Story, Hall is producing and expected to star in the series, which follows five best friends determined to win their adult men’s rec-league basketball championship.
Josh Ruben, fresh off his slasher-romance Heart Eyes, is gearing up to direct Wilderness Reform, a horror thriller adaptation for Paramount Pictures, based on the eerie 2024 novel by Harrison and Matt Query. The darkly comedic Heart Eyes grossed over $33M worldwide and is the film that really put Reuben on the map. This time, Ruben swaps Valentine’s Day bloodshed for a sinister wilderness camp for troubled teens, which is plagued by mysterious events and unexplainable disappearances.
Tidbits:
MGM+ gives the title of global head to Michael Wright, the previous president of scripted television. Wright joined the Amazon-owned subsidiary back in 2017 and will now oversee all North American and international programming and marketing. Beginning his role immediately, he’ll report to the recently promoted Head of Channels for Prime Video, Jay Marine.
Former Topic Studios (Spencer) President, Maria Zuckerman, is now working with Fox Entertainment Studios, signing a first-look deal. Prior to Topic, Zuckerman spent two decades as an HBO exec producing films like the TV movie Grey Gardens (2009) and the Queen Latifah-led Bessie (2015). For Fox, Zuckerman will produce both scripted series and feature films with a focus on bringing more non-fiction projects to the studio.
Lionsgate has spun up a new digital movie network, MovieSphere Gold. Launching across all major platforms with a potential reach of 30M households, it will feature nearly every title from Lionsgate’s vast library, including the Weinstein/Miramax catalogue, which it acquired in 2021. Nearly 20,000 titles could end up in circulation.
Mini Tidbits:
Disney+ is adding a 24/7 Simpsons stream with all 35 seasons, The Simpsons Movie, and new shorts. The series was renewed, and the new film arrives July 23, 2027, not even getting into the Fortnite stuff… The Simpsons are going stronger than ever.
From your childhood dollhouse, to the silver screen, to London! Mattel and Warner Bros. are launching an immersive experience of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie only in London. Barbie in Barbieland is set to open for eight weeks in summer 2026.
CAA Brand Management (clients: Dr. Seuss, Coca-Cola, Hasbro) acquires Beanstalk (clients: P&G, Guinness, The Met), which helps their clients connect with consumers through products and experiences.
MLB seals three-year deals worth $800M a year combined across ESPN (for weekday games), NBCUniversal (for Sunday Night Baseball + full Wild Card round), and Netflix (for Opening Day, Home Run Derby, Field of Dreams).
Letterboxd is launching Letterboxd Video Store, a new rental experience that will allow its audience to rent films straight from the platform. This will include festival gems and hard-to-find movies.
Trailers:
Vertical’s We Bury the Dead
Star: Daisy Ridley
Trailer - looks great, could this be Vertical’s biggest box office hit?
Release: Jan 2, 2026
First look:
Peacock’s Ponies
Cast: Emilia Clarke
Premiere: Jan 15
Columbia Pictures’ Jumanji 3
On set photo of Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and Karen Gillan
Release dates:
A24’s How to Make a Killing (previously titled: Huntington)
Cast: Glen Powell, Margaret Qualley, Ed Harris
Release: Feb. 20
Sony Pictures Classics’ Scarlet
Dir: Mamoru Hosoda (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time)
Limited IMAX Release: Dec 12
IMAX Release: Feb 6
Release: Feb 13
Fathom Entertainment’s Moses the Black
Cast: Omar Epps, Wiz Khalifa
Release: Jan 30
NBC’s Joey (Friends Spinoff)
All episodes (including the last 8 that never aired in the US) are available for free on YouTube
Lilly
Cast: Patricia Clarkson
Dir: Rachel Feldman
Shoot Dates:
Netflix’s Squid Game: America
Dir: David Fincher
Shooting kicks off: Feb 26
THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
I don’t think we’re in Thailand anymore… Not long after her highly compelling stay at The White Lotus, Leslie Bibb is now starring in Top of the Rock, a six-part Cold War-set crime series.
From Iceland’s top production company, Truenorth (Washington Black), the period noir series sees Bibb as U.S. military investigator Captain Goodman, who uncovers a hidden world of secrets, lies, and political tampering after the suspicious death of a fellow American soldier.
Both her performance as the scandalous, rising socialite Dinah in Apple’s Emmy-winning groovy comedy Palm Royale (clip) and her beloved but controversial, perfect yet deeply flawed Kate (scene) in the last season of the HBO hit feel within the same world. Captain Goodman, however, is confident, cutthroat, and marks a clear pivot from Bibb’s more recent roles.
While she may have experienced a shootout during her time in Thailand, Top of the Rock seems to be a definite leap into a style of dramatic work we haven’t quite seen from the actress before.
Tidbits:
Oscar winner Jodie Foster is narrating acclaimed documentarian Morgan Neville’s new film, Breakdown: 1975. There isn’t a more iconic year for movies than 1975, so it feels only fitting that one of the most recognizable voices in Hollywood is narrating a doc about it. With an extensive list of A-list talking heads involved, the film will explore the seminal titles of that year, everything from Jaws to Young Frankenstein to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and so many more.
Danielle Deadwyler has signed on to A24’s The Chaperones, joining The Long Walk duo Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson in the studio’s latest character-driven drama. Deadwyler will play the latter’s sister, sure to bring her protective ferocity she displayed in Till (2022, scene) to a film built around bad judgment, bad decisions, and a kid who desperately needs someone stable in their corner.
Upcoming drama Discomfort, Texas casts Apple TV’s Platonic’s Carla Gallo. She plays Rose Byrne’s supportive best friend in the midlife-crisis comedy series, but shifts into far more dramatic territory here. The film follows the aftermath of a car accident that leaves her character’s daughter in a devastating coma.
TECH SECTION
Luma AI, which recently partnered with Kevin Hart’s production company, is getting a massive investment from Humain (Funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund). They will put in the majority of a $900M funding round.
The Luma AI CEO stated that this investment will help create “a world model,” stating:
“With a world model you make a 90-minute movie not just look like an Oscar winner visually but in story, in flow.”
Obviously, this is fairly scary, for reasons I detail here:
https://theindustry.co/p/the-matrix-and-a-fake-ostrich
Less scary, but definitely something that will cut a bunch of internal editing jobs: Amazon Prime’s new initiative to use AI to cut episode recap videos. There’s a real art to those, and usually they point you to a specific plot point that will be relevant in the next episode. As in, human decision-making with an understanding of story and context.
INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT / INTERNATIONAL NEWS
For all its Technicolor magic, Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way is making Oz, a documentary exploring the deeply speculative behind-the-scenes drama of the making of The Wizard of Oz (1939) and looking at how the timeless film became such a cultural pillar.
DiCaprio shared:
“The Wizard of Oz remains deeply embedded in our culture, and its impact continues to resonate today.”
Resonating today is an understatement given the estimates for Wicked: For Good‘s opening weekend box office numbers, with the original film having spawned countless homages. Directed by Tom Donahue (Mafia Spies), the new doc will feature never-before-seen or heard footage and audio highly focused on director Victor Fleming and Judy Garland.
Partnering with Verdi Productions (Scorsese’s Silence), this is not Appian’s first doc. Beyond their environment-centered Leo-led projects, the studio is working on a doc about The Twilight Zone creator, Rod Serling.
Oz is slated for a 2026 release.
Mubi buys my favorite-titled film of the year…
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