Well, 2024 just got its new adorable mascot thanks to “The Legend of Ochi.”
The upcoming A24 indie fantasy adventure film teased a creature that looks eerily similar to Grogu AKA Baby Yoda-slash-“Gremlins” character Gizmo as a central figure in the coming-of-age tale.
Writer/director Isaiah Saxon makes his feature debut with “The Legend of Ochi” after helming music videos for Björk, Grizzly Bear, Dirty Projectors, and Kanye West. Saxon is also the co-founder of the animation studio Encyclopedia Pictura.
“The Legend of Ochi” is based on Saxon’s own characters and screenplay. The film tells the story of a young girl (Helena Zengel) who runs away from home and learns to communicate with an elusive animal species known as OCHI, hence the title.
Finn Wolfhard, Emily Watson, and A24 staple star Willem Dafoe round out the cast.
Writer/director Saxon shared first look images at the animation of “The Legend of Ochi” on his Tumblr page. He called the feature “a movie about the mysteries of animal communication” and also deemed it an “adventure musical.”
Saxon reunites with Dirty Projectors founder Dave Longstreth for the original score. Producers on the film are Saxon and Encyclopedia Pictura, with Traci Carlson and Richard Peete for Neighborhood Watch, and Jonathan Wang with Year of the Rat.
The Russo Brothers, Mike Larocca, and Angela Russo-Otstot from AGBO are also attached as executive producers, along with Louise Lovegrove and Alex Plapinger.
“The Legend of Ochi” was first announced in 2021. Production took place in Transylvania and Romania.
Dafoe also has another Transylvanian A24 film in the works: his highly-anticipated reunion with Robert Eggers for “Nosferatu.”
Additionally, Dafoe will also appear in Wes Anderson’s next feature, “The Phoenician Scheme,” after recently starring in the auteur’s “Asteroid City” and “The French Dispatch.”
Dafoe previously starred in Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Kinds of Kindness” and Tim Burton’s “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” which were both released in 2024.
A24 will release “The Legend of Ochi” in theaters, but has yet to announce a release date. Check out the trailer below.
