Another World (film)

Another World would be a 2028 American fantasy comedy buddy cop live-action/puppetry hybrid film written and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who would produce the project alongside Kristin Burr. A co-production between Walt Disney Pictures, Lord Miller Productions, and Burr! Productions, the film would star Will Smith, Hugh Jackman, and the voices of Tyrel Jackso Williams, Tessa Thompson, and Bill Hader.

Development on the film would begin in January 2025, with Lord and Miller set to write and direct the project, as well as to produce it with Burr. Jackson Williams and Smith would join the cast in the lead roles in July 2026, while the rest of the cast would join the film by late 2026. Filming would begin in April 2027, and would take place in Atlanta, Georgia. The Jim Henson Creature Shop would provide the puppets for some of the film's main characters, which would later be "enhanced" througth CGI in post-production in order to give the puppet characters a more realisitic look.

Another World would be released on May 16, 2028, and would become a critical and commercial success, with critics praising the film's writing, direction, performances (particularly Smith and Williams'), combination of puppetry and CGI, score, action sequences, and visual effects. The film would earn 789 million dollars at the worldwide box office over a budget of 100 million dollars.

Synopsis
In a mystical world, a young elf/goblin-like creature named Steve longs to find a life better for him and his family than the one they already have, and believes that he found the solution by moving to Earth, which he believes is the perfect world to live in. In an act of impulse, Steve jumps to a portal to Earth, leaving him on Chicago, where he meets Detective Christian "Chris" Moore. Upon discovering that Moore is tracking-down a dangerous criminal, Steve offers his and his (reclutantly-dragged-in) family's help, which Moore is forced to accept. As they investigate a city-wide plot, Steve begins to see how life on Earth is truly like, forcing him to reconsider his vision of it being "the perfect place", and discover what the "perfect place" truly is.

Cast

 * Will Smith as Detective Christian "Chris" Moore, a hardened detective from Chicago, who reclutantly accepts help from Steve and his family in tracking down a dangerous criminal. Smith would call the character as "the kind of guy who has one vision of the world, but discoevrs that there's more of the workd than what it is".
 * Hugh Jackman as Conan "Warlord" Stephenson, a dangerous criminal who plans to start a city-wide assault on Chicago.

Voices

 * Tyrel Jackson Williams as Steve, a goblin/elf-like creature who travels to Earth in hopes of finding a better life for himself and his family. Jackson Williams would describe him as "a young boy with an idea of how life should be, but has his eyes opened and finds out how he has to see the world", while co-director/co-writer Phil Lord would describe the film as "his coming-of-age story".
 * Tessa Thompson as Winifred, Steve and James' sassy-but-caring mother, who struggles to take care of them as a single mother. Lord would say that "while [he and Christopher Miller] wanted her to have some difficulties as a single mother", they didn't wanted to potray her as "they kind of mother who would be better with a husband", with the duo consulting with single mothers in prder to potray her as "a capable woman whose struggles are 100% realistic and 0% sexist".
 * Bill Hader as James, Steve's older brother and Winifred's oldest son, who has a cowardly and neurotic personality, but at the same time is loyal to his family. Hader would say that the character is similar to Inside Out 's Fear, which he also voiced, while co-director/co-writer Christopher Miller would describe him as "the opposite of many older siblings".

Music
Tom Holkenborg, also known as Junkie XL, would compose the film's score. Holkenborg would compose a "techno-mystical score" for Steve's world, while his score for scenes set in Earth would be "more typical and grounded, but with a mystical feel". Mothersbaugh would describe his theme for Steve as "having an optimistic feel but at the same time feeling short-sighted", while his theme for Chris would "not only be short-sighted, but realistic too".

The film's soundtrack would also feature several pop culture songs, such as The Proclaimers' "I'm On My Way" and Holkenborg's remix of Elvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation". According to producer Kristin Burr, while the songs "would be used to make a scene even better", some would be used "to make them funnier or cooler", while others "would have a bigger emotional meaning, so [the filmmakers] would use them to convey further the characters' feelings".

Trivia

 * This would be Tyrel Jacksn Williams' first film role since Pants on Fire (2013), and his first threatical film role since Failure to Launch (2006)
 * Tessa Thompson previously starred in Disney's Lady and the Tramp (2019).
 * Bill Hader previously worked with Lord and Miller on the Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs franchise and 22 Jump Street (2014).