Behind the scenes, Netflix has been moving forward with some very astute business decisions, from their recent move to put a new Pokemon series in production to their deal with Zack Snyder for a whole new zombie universe. Though one project that has really gone under the radar is the streaming service’s agreement to make an animated limited series of the classic Roald Dahl novel The Twits.
Originally announced in 2018 alongside the revelation that The Twits would simply be one of many adaptations of Roald Dahl’s catalogue, three years later and no projects are yet to be released. This isn’t to say that nothing is being done behind the scenes, however, with Phil Johnson, writer of Disney’s Zootopia and Wreck-it Ralph coming on to write The Twits and Taika Waititi working on a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory series.
Dahl’s The Twits wasn’t the most iconic tale in his illustrious career, though it remains a classic tale, telling the story of an irredeemable couple living in a brick house with no windows who constantly play pranks on each other. Fascinatingly it was a tale originally conceived from the author’s personal distaste for beards.
Little is known about Netflix’s brand new series, aside from the acquisition of Phil Johnston, coming onboard to write The Twits, whilst also serving as an executive producer alongside Maggie Malone, a previous producer at Walt Disney Company and Illumination Entertainment. It’s a story that has been historically hard to get to the screen, having been adapted by John Cleese and Kirk De Micco back in 2000, despite having never materialised due to a long stint in development limbo.
The Twits is expected to be developed by Netflix entirely in-house as it looks to rapidly grow its animation department. Check out the very short 2018 teaser below for the new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory series.
