A movie musical written by Ron and Russell Mael of Sparks is currently in development.
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The launch of the project, titled X Crucior, was announced November 4 via Deadline. Production company Focus Features will develop the film, with the Mael brothers serving as screenwriters and executive producers. X Crucior has been billed as an original musical epic, although further details about the film’s plot are being kept under wraps.
A director and premiere date for the project has yet to be announced. Upon its release, X Crucior will mark Sparks’ second film venture with Focus Features, having served as the subjects of the studio’s Edgar Wright-directed documentary The Sparks Brothers in 2021.
Elsewhere in 2021, Ron and Russell served as the screenwriters and composers of Annette, a movie musical starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard. Both film projects arrived a year after Sparks’ 2020 album A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip, which featured the singles “Self-Effacing” and “I’m Toast”. Prior to that, Sparks’ 23rd studio project Hippopotamus arrived in 2017.
In July of this year, Sparks revealed that their follow-up to A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip was in the works. The pair shared an image of themselves in the studio, with vocalist Ron sitting by a computer while his brother – keyboardist Russell – takes notes. While the currently untitled project is yet to receive an official release date, Focus Features’ X Crucior press release revealed that it’ll arrive alongside news of a world tour sometime next year.