Brad Bird isn’t afraid to take on projects that are out of his comfort zone. In fact, when he mulled over the difficulties inherent in directing a musical, he apparently became so attached to the idea that he’s made one his next project. Chatting with Variety reporters on the red carpet of the BAFTA Tea Party, Bird let quite a few details slip on his new film. You can see that exchange on video below.
“I don’t know anything about musicals, so I figure I should do this,” said the director of everything from The Incredibles and The Iron Giant to Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol. “Because I’m deathly afraid of it, and that sounds like a cool thing.”
Bird let quite a few additional details slip during the brief conversation, saying that the film would contain “about 20 minutes” of animation, implying that the rest would be in live-action—a Mary Poppins-esque, partially animated fantasy, perhaps? Perhaps most interestingly, though, Bird said the film would not be adapting any existing intellectual property—this will apparently be a completely original setting and story.
Michael Giacchino will be handling the music, according to Bird. Giacchino, in the course of a long career and frequent collaborations with Bird, has worked on everything from The Incredibles and Ratatouille to Doctor Strange and Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Stay tuned for more details on this still unnamed Brad Bird musical, but you can bet this one will be a big deal when it arrives.