Guillermo del Toro, the Academy Award-winning director of The Shape of Water and Pan’s Labyrinth, and Sam Raimi, the director of the original Spider-Man trilogy, have signed on to produce content for a new streaming service called Quibi, reports Deadline. Del Toro is working on a modern zombie story, while Raimi is working on a project called 50 States of Fear, a horror project set across the US.
The horribly named Quibi (short for “quick bites”) is a new streaming service focused around short-form video content for mobile devices. It’s helmed by ex-Disney and DreamWorks executive Jeffrey Katzenberg and ex-HP CEO Meg Whitman. Aiming to take on video services from Instagram and Facebook, Quibi has already raised $1 billion in an initial funding round.
“Quick Bites”
The service is expected to launch with a Hulu-style subscription model consisting of two tiers. The lower-priced tier will feature advertising, or you can opt for the more expensive ad-free subscription. Exact pricing is yet to be determined.
Along with del Toro and Raimi, Antoine Fuqua and Jason Blum are also signed on to produce content. Fuqua, who’s best known for directing Training Day, is developing what’s been described as a modern-day version of Dog Day Afternoon. Meanwhile, Jason Blum, a producer who worked on Get Out, has pitched a Fatal Attraction-esque project called Wolves and Villagers.
Quibi is expected to launch next year.