‘Orion And The Dark’: First Images Teases Charlie Kaufman’s Adaption!! Check It Out!!

DreamWorks Animation has unveiled a first look at its latest upcoming feature, Orion and the Dark. Penned by Charlie Kaufman, the film will debut on Netflix in 2024.

Adapted from Emma Yarlett‘s 2014 picture book of the same name, Orion and the Dark will tell the tale of elementary school kid Orion (Jacob Tremblay), whose normal exterior conceals a roiling mass of anxieties and fears – fears of bees, dogs, cell phones, murder clowns and most of all, the dark. One night, he is visited by the living embodiment of darkness (Paul Walter Hauser), who takes him on a globe-spanning nocturnal adventure to prove that there is nothing to be afraid of in the dark. The first image from the film depicts the enormous, robed Dark contrasted with the diminutive Orion, with both silhouetted against a full moon as they hover above a city at night. While other images show Orion playing with a phone, and sitting in bed with Dark.

Who Is Charlie Kaufman?

Kaufman is a writer and director known for his mind-bending, metafictional screenplays; he broke out with 1999’s Being John Malkovich, and followed that up with Adaptation, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. After those, he began directing his own scripts, producing the Philip Seymour Hoffman study of obsession Synecdoche, New York, the stop-motion Anomalisa, and the surrealist thriller I’m Thinking of Ending Things.

Canadian actor Tremblay was acclaimed for his performance in 2005’s Room; he has since gone on to star in The Predator, Good Boys, and Luca, and currently stars as Flounder in the remake of The Little Mermaid. He can next be seen in the animated feature Wildwood and the upcoming remake of The Toxic Avenger. The imposing Hauser starred as Olympic security guard Richard Jewell in Clint Eastwood‘s film of the same name, winning him widespread acclaim; he subsequently starred in Da 5 Bloods, Cruella, and the Apple miniseries Black Bird. He can next be seen alongside Sydney Sweeney and Halsey in the crime thriller Americana.

Orion and the Dark moon_R (1) — Image via Netflix

Orion and the Dark will be directed by Sean Charmatz; it will be his first feature, after working on The Lego Movie 2, Trolls World Tour, and both Angry Birds movies, and directing the TV special Trolls Holiday in Harmony. Peter McCown (Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous) will produce, while Walt Dohrn (Spongebob Squarepants) and Bonnie Arnold (How to Train Your Dragon) will executive produce.