Werner Herzog has confirmed he is working on an animated feature adaptation of his 2021 novel The Twilight World about real-life Japanese solider Hiroo Onoda who refused to surrender for some 30 years after the end of WW2.
The German writer, producer and filmmaker is collaborating on the project New York, L.A. and Berlin-based animation studio Psyop, in partnership with Danish-French company Sun Creature Studio, producers of the Bafta and triple Oscar-nominated film Flee.
It marks a first foray into feature animation for Oscar-nominated director Herzog after close to 80 documentary and fiction feature credits including Grizzly Man, Fitzcarraldo, and Aguirre, The Wrath of God.
Sun Creature will providing animation services for the film out of its Bordeaux-based studio, and has brokered discussions with several potential French animation directors to collaborate with Herzog on the project.
The Twilight World tells the true story of 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.
Onoda, who died aged 91 in Tokyo in 2014, also inspired the 2021 live-action drama Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle, directed and written by France’s Anatomy of a Crime co-writer Arthur Harari.
Part fictionalized history, part war drama and part dream log, Herzog’s film will be a meditation on the nature of reality, the illusion of time, and the conflict between the external world and our inner lives.
Herzog worked closely with writers Michael Arias (Tekkonkinkreet, The Animatrix), and Luca Vitale on the screenplay adaptation of the book. He will also narrate 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.
“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. I am very much looking forward to the challenge of working in what is for me, a totally new medium.”
The film is being produced by Psyop’s Amanda Miller and Andrew Linsk.
“Working with Werner is a masterclass in nuanced storytelling” said Linsk, “And 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. The screenplay that Werner has crafted with Michael and Luca is unconventional and deeply layered, and the resulting film will bear the unmistakable mark of its director.”
The Twilight World is a French-German co-production between Psyop (Germany,US), and Sun Creature Studios (France,Denmark).
Miller said Psyop’s long-time relationship with Sun Creature was an integral element of the project.
“The sensibility of the studio, coupled with their vast network of French animation talent, makes them the perfect fit for this project. They were our top choice as partners to collaborate with on The Twilight World,” she said.
Sun Creature Co-founder and Executive Producer Charlotte De La Gournerie added: “We are incredibly excited to be Psyop’s co-production partner for this deeply imaginative story, alongside one of the greatest writers and filmmakers of our time. We are proud to bring our expertise, and our access to the world’s best animators to support Werner in bringing this story to the screen.”
Currently in development, production on The Twilight World will commence in early 2026, after Herzog’s recently announced live action film, Bucking Fastard, which stars sisters Kate and Rooney Mara, is completed.
The film will feature as part of the upcoming Cartoon Movie lineup in Bordeaux and the producers are seeking partnerships with private investors, broadcasters, and distributors. Target release is 2028.
