Orion and the Dark is finally ready to set out on its maiden voyage this February. The Dreamworks production has a different take on night fears, a rarely touched upon topic in family-friendly cinema.
Last Updated: 04.19 AM, Jan 09, 2024
Orion and the Dark has finally unveiled its OTT release date for Netflix. Produced by Dreamworks and Tudum, the film will drop on February 2, 2024. Directed by Sean Charmatz, the film is actually based on a bestselling children’s book by Emma Yarlett. The film’s screenplay was written by Adaptation fame Charlie Kaufman and Lloyd Taylor.
Produced by Peter McCown, Orion and the Dark prominently stars Doctor Sleep actor Jacob Tremblay as the voice of Orion, the scared protagonist, Paul Walter Hausner of Cruella fame as Dark’s voice, the immortal entity whose name explains his purpose, and Nosferatu the Vampyre director Werner Herzog in an unrevealed, significant role, among several others.
According to the plot synopsis and trailer revealed by Dreamworks, Orion and the Dark traces the story of a normal elementary school boy, Orion, with extraordinary fears. Despite a somewhat collected exterior, he is shy, anxious, and introverted, scared of almost everything, from girls and bullies to murderous clowns and falling from a great height.
But of all things he is terrified of, the dark tops the list. On such an unassuming premise, Dark himself enters, determined to make Orion stop fearing him, or as one of his Night Fear buddies call him, ‘the screamer’. What follows is an epic adventure of a night, that can perhaps truly change everything for Orion, for better or for worse.
The film is a firm exploration of the misappropriated notions of darkness being evil and light being good. It also analyses the themes of childhood, night fears and the notion of facing your fears. Orion and the Dark also pits Dark against the likeable, charming Light, in whose presence even Orion feels engulfed by a blanket of warmth. But is Light as good and easygoing as he seems? The answer shall arrive on February 2.