Trevor Noah Partnering With Paramount Animation for Original Film

Trevor Noah partnering with Paramount Animation for original film

In his near-20-year career, Emmy-winning The Daily Show host Trevor Noah has yet to truly explore the world of film, having small roles in Mad Buddies and Black Panther, and now he’s finally ready to dip his toes into the field as he is partnering with Paramount Animation for a new original film, according to Variety.

The plot details for the untitled feature is currently being kept close to the chest, but it is being described as “timely, poignant and comedic” and is based on an original story idea from Noah, who is set to produce the project via his Day Zero Productions banner alongside its President of Production Haroon Saleem, Norman Aladjem, Derek Van Pelt and Sanaz Yamin for Mainstay Entertainment. The script for the project is being penned by Black-ish writer and Happy Endings co-showrunner Jonathan Groff and Modern Family and Community alum Jon Pollack.

The project marks the latest venture from Noah in his and Day Zero’s deal with ViacomCBS inked in March 2018 that sees the goal of developing, producing and acquiring diverse content for domestic and international audiences across the studio’s various platforms. Some of their current projects in development together include a film adaptation of Noah’s award-winning autobiography Born a Crime, which has Lupita Nyong’o (Black Panther) attached to star as Noah’s mom and executive produce and Liesl Tommy (Jessica Jones) attached to direct.

Paramount Animation has been working to try and revamp their image since former DreamWorks Animation Co-President Mireille Soria was set as President of the studio, with their past few efforts Monster Trucks, Sherlock Gnomes and Wonder Park all proving to be critical and commercial failures. The studio is currently gearing up for the third installment in the SpongeBob SquarePants film franchise, Sponge on the Run, which shifted from a theatrical release to a VOD and CBS All Access debut sometime in the next few months due to the global pandemic, the monster wrestling pic Rumble slated for a May release and PAW Patrol: The Movie set for an August release.