The Daniels are hitting the bigtime. The pair of directors behind Swiss Army Man and this year’s surprise hit, Everything Everywhere All at Once, have signed a five-year development deal with Universal, the studio Nope’s Jordan Peele is partnered with as well.
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, the duo that make up The Daniels directing name, released their first theatrical movie, Swiss Army Man in 2016 through artsy indie distributor A24. The directors’ follow-up, Everything Everywhere All at Once, was released in March of this year and has proven to be A24’s highest grossing movie ever, making more than $100 million at the global box office so far. While their accomplishments on modest budgets have already been impressive, it’s likely that Universal will offer them a slightly larger playground for their signature brand of strange comedy and sincere emotion.
Since it started in 2012, A24 has gained cult following thanks to its strong films and reputation for slightly weirder, more off-beat genre projects than most studios tend to produce. The studio’s releases movies and shows like, The Green Knight, Hereditary, Midsummar, Ex Machina, The VVitch, Uncut Gems, The Farewell, and Euphoria.
If The Daniels’ deal is similar to the ones other directors sign when they take exclusive deals, it will give them the opportunity to develop and create new ideas and films under the Universal Studios banner, while also allowing them to produce films by other artists as well. The pair have not yet shared what their next project might be.
