A source who attended the Middleburg Film Festival last weekend tells me he got a few minutes with Brad Bird after a screening of "Ray Gunn," and that Bird let slip something about his future. Bird reportedly said he has several projects in development, but that his next directorial effort will definitely be live-action, "1906," and that this project is the reason he isn't directing "Incredibles 3."
That lines up with what we already know. Pixar tapped Pete Sohn, the filmmaker behind "Elemental" and "The Good Dinosaur," to step into the director's chair that Bird filled for the first two movies. Bird is still involved, writing the screenplay and producing alongside Dana Murray.
Based on James Dalessandro's 2004 novel, "1906" chronicles the San Francisco earthquake and the fires that followed, which killed more than 3,000 people and destroyed over 80% of the city.
This was once going to be Bird's first live-action film, and he has been trying to adapt it since 2007. He developed it at Disney/Pixar after "The Incredibles" and "Ratatouille," but the budget reportedly climbed well beyond what the studio was comfortable approving, especially since it wasn't a straightforward family film. Bird also wanted to use innovative visual effects and extensively recreate early 20th-century San Francisco, which only drove the cost higher. He moved on to "Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol," "Tomorrowland" and "Incredibles 2," and "1906" has sat in development limbo for nearly two decades.
Still, it never fully died. When THR broke the news of Sohn taking over "Incredibles 3," it noted that Bird was in pre-production on "Ray Gunn" as well as, wait for it, 1906" for Disney. Then this past July, as I reported, Bird told the crowd at San Diego Comic-Con that despite his limited TV experience, he's open to doing "1906" as a miniseries, and that he envisions it as an eight-episode limited series.
Has this passion project turned into a Disney+ series? Food for thought. Regardless, it seems like it’s happening, and sooner rather than later.
As for "Ray Gunn," it premiered at the BFI London Film Festival on October 10 and gets a limited theatrical release beginning December 4, including select 70mm screenings, before hitting Netflix on December 18.
Charli’s role is under wraps, but she's in good company, with Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Mads Mikkelsen, Patricia Clarkson and Jared Harris leading the cast.