You can’t mention director Andrew Stanton’s name without thinking about two things, the Oscar-winning Pixar animated film “Wall-E” and the infamous box office flop “John Carter” which starred Taylor Kitsch. The last movie, which debuted in 2012, seemed to have derailed Stanton’s feature-length film work for years. However, the fallow period appears to be ending. A new report reveals a second live-action studio film in the works with a considerable scope.
Thankfully, the director is returning to live-action filmmaking as The Hollywood Reporter has revealed Searchlight Pictures have hired him to make a highly ambitious sci-fi drama called “In The Blink of An Eye.”
The original film penned by screenwriter Colby Day (“Spaceman”) is expected to focus on three intersecting storylines. We’ll have to wait for more concrete plot details. However, THR does cite films such as “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “Interstellar,” and “Magnolia” as the kinds of films that could be comparable. It’s an exciting combination for sure, and we can’t wait to hear more information about “In The Blink of An Eye.”
Since pausing his feature film work, the director has been recently working on television projects such as “Stranger Things,” “For All Mankind,” and the excellent existential sci-fi series “Tales From The Loop.” We also learned not too long ago that Stanton is expected to be one of the directors assembled to helm episodes of Netflix’s high-profile sci-fi series “3 Body Problem,” which hails from “Game of Thrones” showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.
Back in 2020, Searchlight nabbed Stanton to direct “Chairman Spaceman,” which comes from Simon Kinberg’s Genre Films. That project focuses on a notorious corporate raider who renounces his worldly wealth as he signs up for an interplanetary mission to colonize the greater solar system in the wake of Earth’s final days.
It’s unclear what ‘Blink’ coming together means for “Chairman Spaceman” and if the former project is still alive, but either way, it feels like a welcome back for Stanton is in order.