You may not remember, but a few years back, DreamWorks was cooking up a movie called “Me and My Shadow,” and it was planned for a 2014 release. Bill Hader and Josh Gad were slated to lead the voice cast in the story about Shadow Stan, a shadow who wants to become untethered from the boring Stanley Grubb, so he can live his own life. Frustrated, he takes matters into his own hands, and instead of shadowing Stanley, takes over his life instead. It’s a nifty concept, but in 2013 the studio shelved the project, even though quite a bit of development was done, including voice work. But DreamWorks still wants to make a movie about shadows, and they’ve hired an inventive filmmaker to get it done.
The Wrap reports that Edgar Wright will direct and co-write the screenplay, along with British comic David Walliams, for a new, untitled shadow movie. There’s no word yet on what their story or approach will be, but it seems Wright is fired up about taking it on. “My first endeavors in film-making as a teenager were in animation, so it was hugely intriguing to get a call from DreamWorks Animation about potentially directing,” he said. “When the Shadows concept was suggested to me, I could see the poster, the title sequence and pretty much the whole movie. It’s a blast writing this and to have one of my oldest friends in comedy, David Walliams, along for the adventure is a thrill.”
In some ways, Wright’s own movies are like live action cartoons, so a step into actual animation makes total sense, and it’ll be interesting to see what his sensibility will add to the concept. For now, though, Wright’s next picture is "Baby Driver."
