Brian Duffield to Helm Live-Action ‘Crumble’ for Laika

Laika, the animation studio behind ParaNorman and Coraline, are entering the realm of live-action films with Crumble, with Spontaneous and No One Will Save You filmmaker Brian Duffield set to write and direct per Deadline.

Crumble follows “a married couple who embark on a world-traveling adventure to find a cure for an ancient curse.”

Academy Award winners Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the duo behind Cocaine Bear and the animated Spider-Verse films, are tapped to produce alongside Aditya Sood through their Lord Miller banner. Lucy Kitada and Nikki Baida from Lord Miller will serve as executive producers.

Lord and Miller said in a joint statement that they’re “so excited to keep collaborating with our friend Brian Duffield, who has written a script that is endlessly imaginative, funny, and romantic. 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.”

Considering Laika’s genre-bending animated features, Duffield feels perfectly suited to helm a Laika film. The filmmaker is currently in high demand, having recently been announced to helm the adaptation of Daniel Kraus’ Whalefall.

Duffield said, “I’ll never forget seeing Coraline on opening night at the AMC Burbank 16 and wondering who these wonderful new geniuses were. 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.”

Laika was founded in 2005 by President & CEO Travis Knight, with 2009’s Coraline as their debut feature film followed by ParaNorman,  The Boxtrolls, Kubo and the Two Strings, and Missing Link. All were nominated for the Academy Award® for Outstanding Animated Feature. 

Laika’s President, Live Action Film & Series, Matt Levin, added in a statement, “We’re so excited to partner with Brian and the entire team at Lord Miller on this special film. 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.”

While it’s too early to tell just how much Crumble will veer into the genre, the collaboration between Duffield, Lord Miller, and Laika most certainly has our interest. 

Stay tuned for additional details as they arrive.