Werner Herzog, the celebrated German writer, producer and filmmaker behind “Grizzly Man” and “The Wrath of God,” is making his animation debut with “The Twilight World,” based on his best selling novel of the same name.
Narrated by the filmmaker, “The Twilight World” tells the true story of Hiroo Onoda, a Japanese intelligence officer who refused to believe that World War II was over, and continued to fight a personal, fictitious war in the jungles of the Philippines for thirty years.
The screenplay adaptation of the book, which weaves history, war drama and dream log, was written by Herzog with Michael Arias (“Tekkonkinkreet,” “The Animatrix”) and Luca Vitale.
Sun Creature Studio, the producers of “Flee,” the BAFTA and Oscar-nominated film, has been tapped to create for “The Twilight World” out of their France-based studio and will be working with French animation talent, while Psyop, another renowned animation studio that is based in Germany and the U.S., is co-producing the film.
“I always felt that Hiroo Onoda’s story, having spanned almost 30 years of fever dreams in the jungle, was best suited for literature, not cinema—which is why I chose to tell it through a novel,” said Herzog.
Herzog said “it wasn’t until the producers at Psyop approached me about adapting Onoda’s story into an animated film that I realized the potential that animation had to tell this story in a truly compelling and imaginative way.”
Andrew Linsk, who is producing the film with Amanda Miller at Psyop, said “Working with Werner is a masterclass in nuanced storytelling.”
“This particular story—because of the dreamlike and expressionistic way that it deals with the characters’ perception of the passage of time, is particularly suited to animation,” Linsk, who called the screenplay “unconventional.”
Miller pointed out Psyop has a long-standing relationship with Sun Creature, which also co-producing “The Twilight World.” “The sensibility of the studio, coupled with their vast network of French animation talent, makes them the perfect fit for this project. ” Sun Creature’s co-founder Charlotte De La Gournerie, is an executive producer on the project.
Currently in development, production on “The Twilight World” will commence in early 2026. Herzog recently competed his next live action film, “Bucking Fastard,” which stars sisters Kate and Rooney Mara.
“The Twilight World” will be pitched at the upcoming Cartoon Movie, a co-production market dedicated to animation, taking place in Bordeaux, France.
