Netflix cancels Adam McKay’s serial killer comedy so he can make something about climate chage

Earlier this year, Netflix picked up Average Height, Average Built, a black comedy from Adam McKay about a serial killer (played by Robert Pattinson) who teams up with a government lobbyist (Amy Adams) to try and legalize serial-killing, leading to him becoming a political folk hero in what we called at the time “a commentary on… you know, political corruption and dark money and the gullibility of the American public.” However, despite having a huge cast lined up (Robert Downey Jr. was also attached), McKay has decided not to make Average Height, Average Build, leading to the whole thing being canceled by Netflix—presumably because, as exhausting as a modern day Adam McKay movie can be, the whole concept would be simply unbearable with anyone else behind the camera.

Instead, Deadline says McKay will be making something about climate change, with this new project “getting all of McKay’s attention” and leaving no time for the serial killer movie—a.k.a. the greatest fear of everyone who finds out that their mother is having another baby. We don’t have any details about this movie, including the plot or the cast or anything, but everyone at Deadline seems confident that it will definitely be about climate change.

But before anyone says “wasn’t Don’t Look Up about climate change, at least metaphorically?”, McKay would probably argue that everything should be about climate change these days. Deadline points out that his Yellow Dot Studios nonprofit organization has been making viral videos and memes designed to promote awareness and “public understanding of the climate emergency and related issues,” so it seems like this is just the thing he cares about these days. Which is probably good! We’d prefer it if our elected officials were the ones constantly talking about global warming, but at least somebody’s doing it.