With every David Cronenberg headline, I’m sure there are readers hoping that buried in the text is definitive news about what the filmmaker will be working on next. And as we covered in another article recently, it doesn’t appear that a new Cronenberg film or TV series is imminent…yet. But that doesn’t mean the filmmaker is giving up. Hardly. However, if you’re hoping he makes another genre film like “The Dead Zone,” “Videodrome,” or “The Fly,” you might not be in luck.
Speaking to Vulture, while promoting his role in the new neo-noir film, “Disappearance at Clifton Hill” (check out an exclusive clip featuring the filmmaker here), Cronenberg was asked if he’d ever see himself returning to genre filmmaking in the future. Never one to say “never,” the director hinted that it’s not likely, especially if fans are hoping for his take on the superhero genre.
“It really depends on how relevant it feels to me and to the world at large,” said Cronenberg about tackling a genre project in the future. “I could do that again. I absolutely could do that again. The version of genre that is most forceful in Hollywood right now — the superhero thing — has never appealed to me much. So I was never tempted by that. To me, it’s too formulaic, and too adolescent in its emotional understanding.”
As for what he is working on, Cronenberg does continue to tease the possibility of a TV series based on his novel “Consumed,” though a streaming service has yet to sign on. And when asked how he finds writing a TV show for a streaming platform different than a film, he gave a great explanation.
“It’s certainly filmmaking, but it’s not exactly cinema,” said the filmmaker. “In writing it, your rhythms are quite different. It can be pretty delicious for a writer. Perhaps less so for a director. It’s not the same as directing a movie where you’re completely responsible for the look of the thing, the casting, and so on. [But] many of the series that I’ve seen on Netflix or Amazon Prime have very, very good directing by directors I’ve never heard of.”
So, we’re sorry to report that there’s still no definite plan for a new Cronenberg project on the horizon. But we can’t give up hope just yet.