Harmony Korine Preps Next Two Features; Animated Debut THE TRAP & Untitled Mo-Cap Assisted Comedy

Harmony Korine has his next two feature films lined up, preparing for his animated debut The trapand an as-yet-untitled motion-capture-assisted comedy by his multimedia design collective EDGLRD.

The Miami-based collective also supported the feature film debut of acclaimed music video director Matias Vasquez aka Stillz, and is considering a 2024 release of the film, already in post-production.

This series of projects marks an intense period of development and production for the new-media outfit, which has just made its first effort “Aggro Dr1ft” available on-demand via the new EDGLRD website. In keeping with the company’s design background, the VOD release is also accompanied by merchandise.

Described as “Oldboy” set through a hip-hop filter, Variety reports that “‘The Trap’ imagines another sun-kissed gangster saga, following an ex-con fresh out of prison and bent on revenge upon learning that the his former accomplice has become a best-selling rapper.

“Originally set to hit Annapurna, ‘The Trap’ was almost set to see the light of day as a live-action film set to star Jamie Foxx and Benecio del Toro before the project fell through just before production. Now, Korine will reimagine the title as an anime, with EDGLRD executives currently in talks with production partners in Japan.

“Back in Miami, EDGLRD is now ramping up pre-production on a comedy directed by Korine, also from an earlier script, though additional details are unclear, which will rely on in-house experiments with motion capture technology and virtual creation”.

“Comedy is at the core of Harmony’s work,” says Eric Kohn, EDGLRD’s film strategy director, who previously served as executive editor and vice president of editorial strategy at IndieWire. “So people will be pleasantly surprised when they learn more, because this is a very familiar style for him, even if it’s a little more intimate than people are used to seeing.”

Before launching production on his next two features, Korine is now putting the finishing touches on “Baby Invasion,” a surreal first-person shooter home invasion thriller that uses technology developed by EDGLRD to swap the faces of attackers with those of other children. Unsurprisingly, the upcoming feature is said to make “Aggro Dr1ft” look tame by comparison.

Following the path blazed by ‘Aggro Dr1ft’, this latest project is eyeing an autumn festival launch before a more unconventional and experiential release path later this year, albeit now along a longer timeline accelerated.

“The film market, especially in the United States, is very, very small,” Kohn says. “If you only look at the box office as a metric for exhibition success, you’re excluding other ways of thinking outside the box. If you don’t continually reinforce the idea that film and media can travel and exist in different contexts, people will find themselves in a default mode. Right now, younger audiences don’t want their options limited.”

As part of the vision, the company will develop a new talent roster. EDGLRD recently teamed up with music video master Stillz – key collaborator on Bad Bunny and director of the “Where She Goes” and “Monaco” videos – to translate the director’s unique visual sensibility into a supernatural thriller. The project shot last month and is now in post-production, with EDGLRD aiming for release this year.

Do any of these projects interest you?