Will Forte Boards A24’s Crazy Comedy GOBLIN, Described as TED Meets E.T.
A24's upcoming comedy Goblin just landed another great addition to its cast. Will Forte is now in talks to join Skyler Gisondo and Kenneth Branagh in director David Mikalson's off-the-wall comedy, which has already been described as "Ted meets E.T."
That elevator pitch alone makes it sound like the kind of bizarre, R-rated movie that could end up becoming a cult favorite, and with this cast coming together, it's becoming even more intriguing.
Forte joins Gisondo, while Branagh is set to lend his voice to the film's title character, a goblin that sounds unlike anything audiences have seen before. The project is going to be a raunchy buddy comedy centered on an anatomically correct green goblin brought to life with a practical puppet.
The story behind Goblin getting made is pretty interesting. Mikalson, an aspiring filmmaker from Washington state, dropped out of film school and started creating short films on his own.
He came up with the idea for an outrageous comedy about a goblin and invested everything he had into building the practical puppet himself instead of waiting for Hollywood to give him a shot. That gamble paid off.
The screenplay earned Mikalson representation from WME, Kaplan/Perrone, and attorney Chris Abramson, who then sent the script around town. That led to roughly 100 general meetings with studios and producers.
Even with all that attention, money remained a major obstacle. Mikalson had poured everything he had into creating the film's unforgettable creature, leaving himself broke while trying to get the project off the ground.
Several companies wanted him to first prove the concept by making a micro-budget version, but A24 believed in the project from the start.
Rather than waiting, the studio backed Mikalson's vision and gave him the resources to make the movie the way he originally imagined it. It's another example of A24 putting its faith in an emerging filmmaker with a unique voice, something the studio has become well known for over the years.
Production on Goblin is expected to begin this fall, bringing Mikalson's dream project one step closer to the big screen.
Between Forte's comedic talent, Gisondo's charm, Branagh voicing what sounds like a completely unhinged goblin, and A24 embracing such a wonderfully weird concept, Goblin is shaping up to be one of the most unpredictable comedies currently in development. It's definitely a movie we'll be keeping a close eye on.