Tim Burton Sets Sights on New Post-WWII Movie With Bestselling Sci-Fi Novelist

Tim Burton is one of today’s most iconic and acclaimed directors. For five decades, his work has delighted audiences worldwide with beloved titles such as Beetlejuice, Batman, Edward Scissorhands, and Sleepy Hollow. One of his most recent credits, the hit Netflix series Wednesday, recently wrapped production on Season 3. Now the director is reportedly looking for his next feature film.

Since 2025, Burton has been attached to a remake of Attack of the 50 Foot Woman at Warner Bros. Margot Robbie has reportedly been in talks to star in and produce the movie through her production company, LuckyChap Entertainment. In 2026, KPop: Demon Hunters screenwriters Danya Jimenez and Hannah McMechan signed on to write the script, replacing originally announced writer Gillian Flynn. Even though Attack of the 50 Foot Woman is still reportedly in development at Warner Bros. following Skydance’s acquisition of the studio, Burton may have his sights set on a very different type of film for his next project.

Deadline reports that Tim Burton is teaming up with Nobel Prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro for an untitled film. Plot details remain under wraps, but multiple sources tell Deadline it would be set in post-World War II Japan. The movie will reportedly be based on an original script by Ishiguro, not one of his previous or upcoming novels. Burton is developing the project with plans to direct. Speaking with Variety, Ishiguro said the movie is “not a war film” and described it as “a Tim Burton film.”

Author Kazuo Ishiguro’s acclaimed novel Klara and the Sun is being adapted into a feature film of the same name set for release on Oct. 23, 2026. Directed by Taika Waititi, Klara and the Sun is set in a dystopian future where advances in genetic engineering have divided humans into strict, isolated social classes, and it follows an obsolete companion android named Klara as she tries to bond with a sick girl named Josie. Klara and the Sun stars Jenna Ortega, who previously worked with Burton on Wednesday and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

The upcoming collaboration will mark Burton’s first original movie, as it is not based on a pre-existing property or real-life person, since Corpse Bride in 2005. A post-World War II Japan-set film could be Burton’s attempt at an Academy Award nomination for Best Director, something that has eluded the filmmaker throughout his career. The director has also shown an interest in Japanese cinema, specifically post-World War II-era sci-fi films. Godzilla appeared in Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, and a homage to the character appeared in Frankenwennie when a pet turtle is transformed into a kaiju similar to Gamera.