Adam McKay Eyes Climate Change Project For His Next Directing Job

Justin Kroll
·2 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

EXCLUSIVE: Adam McKay, who has been outspoken about the threat of global warming, is deciding to make his next directorial project a climate-related one. Insiders add that with that project now getting all of McKay’s attention, he will no longer be directing the Netflix movie Average Height, Average Build, and the film will no longer be moving forward.

McKay had penned Average Height, Average Build and brought the project to Netflix. With him no longer involved, there is no plan to find a replacement and move forward with the film.

More from Deadline

Netflix could not be reached for comment. No other plot details are known and no other talent attachments are involved with the climate project at this time.

As for Average Height, Average Build, Deadline broke the news this year that Netflix had come on to the star-studded project featuring a cast that included Robert Pattinson, Amy Adams and Robert Downey Jr. The film followed Pattinson playing a serial killer who enlists a lobbyist (Adams) to change laws that will allow him to get away with murder more easily. Downey was to play a retired cop who won’t give up on the murders, and the killer tries to prevent him from dogging his trail now that he’s hung up his gun. The serial killer turns himself into a cause celebre, a Mr. Smith Goes to Washington figure shielding his true motives.

McKay has not just used his work to talk about the climate change emergency over the years (see 2021’s Don’t Look Up) but also has been active outside the industry to get the word out about the threat. Earlier this year he launched the nonprofit Yellow Dot Studios to make videos and other materials aimed at raising public understanding of the climate emergency and related issues, following the viral success of his spoof Chevron ad last September that had more than 4.5 million views in its first 24 hours.

McKay and his Yellow Dot team will produce quick-turnaround videos, memes and media in step with the increasing urgency of the climate crisis.

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.