Coming off an Oscar win for best adapted screenplay, Jojo Rabbit writer-director Taika Waititi is headed to Showtime for his next project.
Waititi and Jude Law are attached to a series called The Auteur that’s in the works at the premium cable outlet, sources confirm to The Hollywood Reporter. The project is a Hollywood satire that would have Law playing the eccentric title character.
Showtime made an official announcement on Feb. 18, saying it’s ordered multiple scripts for the project, which is based on an Oni Press graphic novel of the same name by Rick Spears, James Callahan and Luigi Anderson. Showtime and Legendary Entertainment are producing, with Endeavor Content as the studio.
Waititi will direct and write The Auteur with Peter Warren (Ghost Team). They executive produce with Law Eric Gitter, Rick Spears, James Callahan and Dan Halsted.
“The Auteur unites the wildly imaginative filmmaker Taika Waititi and the barbed wit of Peter Warren with the undeniable Jude Law in a bloody love letter to the movies that will make you simultaneously die laughing and want to run for your life,” said Amy Israel, executive vp scripted programming at Showtime.
The half-hour project would star Law as a producer coming off a massive bomb. Desperate to make a great horror movie, he accidentally traps his production on a backlot with a serial killer in what’s described as a gonzo horror-comedy, twisted romance and high-wire act of satire.
The Auteur is in the early stages, with no start date set as Law and Waititi both have other commitments looming. Law, currently seen on The New Pope at HBO, is set begin work on the third Fantastic Beasts movie soon, while Waititi will return to the Marvel universe later this year for Thor: Love and Thunder.
Law is also set to star in HBO’s limited series The Third Day later this year. His recent credits include the features The Rhythm Section and Captain Marvel. Law is repped by WME and Julian Belfrage Associates.
Waititi is an executive producer of FX’s What We Do in the Shadows, based on his and Jemaine Clement’s 2014 film. He also did voice work on and directed an episode of The Mandalorian for Disney+. His other credits include Thor: Ragnarok and The Hunt for the Wilderpeople. Waititi is repped by CAA and Manage-ment.
Should it move forward, The Auteur would join a roster of Showtime originals that includes Billions, The Chi, Black Monday, Kidding, City on a Hill, The L Word: Generation Q, Work in Progress, Back to Life and On Becoming a God in Central Florida, while the long-in-the-works video game adaptation Halo and the dramas First Ladies, Rust, Mr. Ripley and Penny Dreadful: City of Angels are on the horizon.
Jan. 18, 1:35 p.m. Updated with Showtime confirmation and additional details.
