Netflix has dropped a brand new Orion and the Dark photo for Charlie Kaufman’s forthcoming animated fantasy movie featuring the voices of Jacob Tremblay and Paul Walter Hauser.
The photo provides a closer look at the unlikely titular duo who will embark on an adventure where Orion will learn how to conquer his fears of the unknown. The film is currently expected to make its debut sometime in 2024.
What is Orion and the Dark?
“Orion seems a lot like your average elementary school kid — shy, unassuming, harboring a secret crush,” reads the synopsis. “But underneath his seemingly normal exterior, Orion is a ball of adolescent anxiety, completely consumed by irrational fears of bees, dogs, the ocean, cell phone waves, murderous gutter clowns, and even falling off of a cliff. But of all his fears, the thing he’s the most afraid of is what he confronts on a nightly basis: the dark. So when the literal embodiment of his worst fear pays a visit, Dark whisks Orion away on a roller coaster ride around the world to prove there is nothing to be afraid of in the night. As the unlikely pair grows closer, Orion must decide if he can learn to accept the unknown — to stop letting fear control his life and finally embrace the joy of living.”
Orion and the Dark is directed by Sean Charmatz (Trolls World Tour) from a screenplay written by Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind scribe Kaufman. The latter previously worked with Netflix for his directorial feature I’m Thinking of Ending Things back in 2020. The story is based on the novel by Emma Yarlett.
The CG film is executive produced by Walt Dohrn and Bonnie Arnold, with Peter McCown serving as a producer. It hails from DreamWorks Animation with Tim Lamb set as the production designer and Christine Bian as art director.
