Damien Chazelle Sets Eyes on Next Directorial Effort From an Original Script He Wrote
It’s been a little over a year since Damien Chazelle released Babylon, and we’ve finally heard what he’s working on next. The filmmaker signed an overall deal with Paramount prior to that movie’s release, which he’s mostly used as cover to produce other projects than his own.
Now, he’ll be directing from his own script, Deadline reported today. Details are basically non-existent, other than it’s fully original and it’s set inside a prison. He’s also set to produce with his partner, Olivia Hamilton, through Wild Chickens.
No production start was provided in the report, but apparently, the project is gaining a lot of momentum at Paramount, as they say both filmmaker and studio could start meeting with actors in the very near future. With that in mind, and a script already locked, it’s definitely not impossible for him to start shooting his in 2024.
Chazelle may have received a black eye after Babylon made two dollars at the box office, but at least he got to sign his deal with the studio before that. He’s also written a script that Matthew Vaughn will direct, and remains the type of director that forces A-listers in Hollywood to pay attention to. The problem with Babylon was its massive budget due to Chazelle’s ambitious take, but setting this follow-up in a confined environment like a prison would certainly keep the budget down. That may have not been a slip by Deadline‘s sources, as perhaps Chazelle’s team wanted to make clear that he will be scaling down for his next movie. For what it’s worth, I fully believe Babylon will eventually be considered a cult classic and revisited for years to come.
Of course, the shadow of the impending merger between Paramount Global and Skydance is cast over any project the film studio sets in motion at the moment. But those terms are still being negotiated, and the deal will most likely not affect Damien Chazelle and his new film. The deal, even if agreed upon tomorrow, will take months to close and will probably go under some scrutiny by legislators; by then, the project will already be in production, or beyond that point.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as authors like Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
