Jason Bateman is attached to a new Netflix project, The Cackling of the Dodos, as early details begin to surface. The film remains broadly outlined while production continues to take shape.
The Cackling of the Dodos in works at Netflix
The Cackling of the Dodos is in development at Netflix, with details reported via Tudum and Jason Bateman attached to direct the project. The film is described as not being about birds, despite its title suggesting otherwise. It follows a small-town farmer who discovers a dead body in a grain bin and becomes involved in a cover-up.
The official logline states the title “may sound like it will cast a spotlight on the high-pitched vocals of the long-extinct, flightless birds, but the new film is anything but a nature documentary.” Instead, the story centers on a “chaotic, sloppy cover-up” initiated after the discovery of the corpse. Novelist Rye Curtis, known for Kingdomtide, wrote the screenplay.
Sam Rockwell and Woody Harrelson will star in the film, reuniting after their work in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Rockwell won an Academy Award for that film, while Harrelson received a nomination. The project marks another collaboration between Bateman and Netflix, continuing their ongoing partnership on multiple original productions.
Jason Bateman previously earned a SAG/AFTRA Actor Award nomination for Black Rabbit. He also appeared in Carry-On, a 2024 airport security thriller that spent eight weeks in Netflix’s Global Top 10. Additionally, he played a central role in Ozark, which earned 45 Emmy nominations across four seasons.
Sam Rockwell recently appeared in The White Lotus and received an Oscar nomination for Vice. Harrelson earned Academy Award nominations for The People vs. Larry Flynt and The Messenger. Production will bring further updates about The Cackling of the Dodos as it progresses, with more announcements expected soon.