This year’s Cannes Film Festival just got a little spookier as word begins to travel that Tim Burton is slinking around the Croisette. According to The Dish, he’s there to pitch a top-secret movie project to potential buyers. It’s a short trip to France from Burton’s London residence, but a question remains: What is he up to?
It’s not to pitch his Attack of the Fifty-Foot Woman film. The reimagining already has a home at Warner Bros. with Margot Robbie assigned to the lead role. He could revive one of his defunct passion projects, like Geek Love or The Fall of the House of Usher, but something tells me that’s not the ticket. The Hollywood Reporter spoke with the frizzy-haired filmmaker about a Medusa film, but that also feels unlikely. Burton recently said he doesn’t want to make a third Beetlejuice movie, so it’s not that. The plot thickens.
I hope that Burton’s top-secret project is something original, possibly a return to stop-motion animation with characters from his many sketchbooks. I’m not going to hold my breath that this will be the case, but I can still dream. More than anything, I want Burton to get weird again. Give us something in the vein of Edward Scissorhands, Big Fish, or Ed Wood. That would be grand.
Meanwhile, Burton is shooting the next season of Wednesday, his breakout Netflix hit, based on the Addams Family property, and starring Jenna Ortega. The spooky Addams Family spinoff is shooting in Dublin, with Burton Executive producing alongside shorunners Alfred Gough and Miles Millar.
Regardless of what Burton has planned, we’re excited to hear about it. He almost retired from filmmaking after Disney’s Dumbo failed to connect with audiences. Still, then Wednesday and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice came along, adding some pep to Burton’s step as he retook the spotlight. With Attack of the Fifty-Foot Woman on the way, it feels like Burton is back in business for the foreseeable future. Inspired by the 1958 Nathan Juran-directed original, Attack of the Fifty-Foot Woman tells the story of what happens when an abused socialite grows to giant size because of an alien encounter and an aborted murder attempt. During the film, she pursues her cheating husband with revenge on her mind. Get it, queen!