Award-winning studio LAIKA is bolstering its live-action slate by acquiring Crumble, an original script by Brian Duffield (Spontaneous, No One Will Save You), who will direct.
Oscar winners Phil Lord and Chris Miller, as well as Aditya Sood, will produce through their Lord Miller banner. Duffield will also produce. Lucy Kitada and Nikki Baida from Lord Miller will serve as executive producers.
Crumble tells the tale of a married couple who go on a world-traversing adventure hoping to find a cure for an ancient curse. Matt Levin, LAIKA’s President of Live-Action Film and series, made the announcement today.
“We’re so excited to partner with Brian and the entire team at Lord Miller on this special film,” said Levin. “Brian has such a singular voice and Crumble perfectly embodies the bold, emotional, and inventive storytelling that we champion at LAIKA. Lord Miller is in a class of its own, and we could not ask for a better creative team to bring this story to life.”
Brian Duffield‘s critically acclaimed film No One Will Save You, starring Kaitlyn Dever, was released on Hulu in September 2023, earning him a Critics Choice nomination for Best Movie Made for Television, as well as a WGA Award nomination in the TV & New Media Motion Picture category.
Prior to that, he wrote, produced, and directed Spontaneous, produced Cocaine Bear, directed by Elizabeth Banks for Universal, and the upcoming Borderline, directed by Jimmy Warden and starring Samara Weaving. He will also co-write, direct, and produce Whalefall for 20th Century Studios and Imagine Entertainment, based on the recently published novel by Daniel Kraus.
“I’ll never forget seeing Coraline on opening night at the AMC Burbank 16 and wondering who these wonderful new geniuses were,” said Duffield. “I can’t wait to make a movie with them and hopefully live up to their banner, and I couldn’t be more excited to get to go on a new adventure with my friends at Lord Miller.”
“We’re so excited to keep collaborating with our friend Brian Duffield, who has written a script that is endlessly imaginative, funny, and romantic,” said Chris Miller and Phil Lord. “We have long been fans of LAIKA and Travis Knight’s groundbreaking work in animation and could not be more excited to join forces with them in live action.”
Mirko Parlevliet has been reporting on the entertainment industry since 1998 and founded Vital Thrills to provide the latest news on streaming, movies, and TV shows. He previously created the websites ComingSoon, SuperHeroHype, and ShockTillYouDrop.