Andy Serkis’ adaptation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm heads to Netflix

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Just last week, Netflix acquired Andy Serkis' MOWGLI, and it seems that they want to stay in the Andy Serkis business as Deadline has reported that they've also acquired Serkis' long-in-development adaptation of George Orwell's "Animal Farm".

Andy Serkis began developing the ANIMAL FARM project back in 2012, so it's certainly been a long time coming. Serkis will direct the film, which will naturally be brought to life through performance-capture. Matt Reeves, who directed Serkis in both DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES and WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES, is on board as a producer. Most of us read "Animal Farm" at some point in school, but if you never got around to it, the allegorical novella reflected on the rise of the Stalinist era of the Soviet Union through the eyes of a group of farm animals. Here's Deadline's description:

The premise involves a group of animals who rebel against the humans who own the farm, and win their independence. The architects of the revolution create a utopian environment based on equality, but a pig named Napoleon twists the original intent, slowly eliminates his rivals and enacts seven commandments, the basic of which declares that “all animals are created equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

In a statement, Andy Serkis said, "We are incredibly excited to have finally found the perfect creative home in Netflix, for this extraordinarily zeitgeist work by George Orwell. On top of that, to be re-united with my great friend Matt Reeves, with his acute sensitivity, storytelling intelligence and honesty, and command in this realm, is to have the very best scenario for our long held passion to bring this fable alive." It should be an exciting project, particuarly if Serkis is able to assemble another A-list cast as he did with MOWGLI. Matt Reeves added, "Andy is such an incredible artist — he is truly a force of nature, and a beautiful soul. To be able to work with him again and with Jonathan and Netflix to see Orwell’s classic tale brought to life in a totally new and exciting way is an absolute dream."

The official synopsis for MOWGLI:

Blending live action and performance capture, the story follows the upbringing of the human child Mowgli (Rohan Chand) raised by a wolf pack in the jungles of India.  As he learns the often-harsh rules of the jungle, under the tutelage of a bear named Baloo (Andy Serkis) and a panther named Bagheera (Christian Bale), Mowgli becomes accepted by the animals of the jungle as one of their own.  All but one: the fearsome tiger Shere Khan. (Benedict Cumberbatch). But there may be greater dangers lurking in the jungle, as Mowgli comes face to face with his human origins. The other story’s central animal characters are: Kaa, the snake (Cate Blanchett); the leader of the wolf pack, Akela (Peter Mullan); the scavenging hyena, Tabaqui (Tom Hollander); Nisha, the female wolf (Naomie Harris), who adopts the baby Mowgli as one of her cubs; Nisha’s mate, Vihaan (Eddie Marsan); and Mowgli’s Brother Wolf (Jack Reynor). 

MOWGLI will hit Netflix sometime in 2019.