Hollywood loves a comeback story—but few are as bizarre as Dragons (oops, Dragons—see what we did there?). Brandon Cronenberg’s long-shelved space-horror flick, originally set to shoot in 2017, just clawed its way out of development limbo with fresh Telefilm Canada funding. And this time? He’s bringing Guardians of the Galaxy co-creator Dan Abnett into the void.
Cosmic Horror Meets Corporate Greed
Described as an “opiate of the masses” wrapped in scales, Dragons spins a Moby-Dick-in-space tale: a crew hunting ancient alien lifeforms turned profit-driving narcotics. It’s Alien meets Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas—if Hunter S. Thompson snorted stardust.
Why the Delay?
Back in 2017, Cronenberg was still the “other Cronenberg,” fresh off Antiviral’s body-horror buzz. Now, post-Infinity Pool’s psychedelic shockwaves, he’s got leverage. The lesson? In Hollywood, timing is everything—and sometimes, your script needs to marinate in the cosmic abyss before it’s ripe.
Cronenberg’s Evolution
- 2012’s Antiviral: A sterile, surgical satire on celebrity obsession.
- 2020’s Possessor: A brutal tech-noir about identity theft—literally.
- 2023’s Infinity Pool: A sun-soaked, psychotropic class war.
Dragons fits the pattern: high-concept horror with a side of societal rot. But with Abnett’s Marvel-honed world-building? This could be Cronenberg’s slickest nightmare yet.
Will It Soar or Crash?
Cronenberg’s films divide audiences like a scalpel through flesh—love ’em or loathe ’em, they linger. Dragons might be his riskiest swing yet: a delayed, effects-heavy space epic in an era of franchise fatigue.
Your move, universe.
