South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker “still believe” in their long-awaited Kendrick Lamar collaboration, despite the project having faced several delays.
For those unfamiliar, we first learned that such a project, billed as a “live-action comedy feature film,” was in the works way back in January 2022. In a press release shared with Complex and other outlets at the time, Paramount was announced as the theatrical distributor of the then-untitled film, with Paramount+ serving as its eventual streaming home.
Brian Robbins, then serving as CEO at Paramount Pictures, expressed excitement about the project, which was initially slated to go into production in the spring of 2022.
“On behalf of Paramount Pictures and the wider ViacomCBS family, we look forward to ushering in the first theatrical collaboration from these creative visionaries, and galvanizing audiences worldwide around a powerful storytelling experience,” Robbins, who exited his CEO role in 2025, said at the time.
Now, the project falls under the purview of Dave Ellison, CEO of Paramount Skydance, which formed as part of a merger last August. When the film was first announced, its story was described as a depiction of “the past and present coming to a head” after “a young Black man who is interning as a slave re-enactor at a living history museum discovers that his white girlfriend’s ancestors once owned his.”
In a statement shared with The Ankler’s Matthew Frank on Wednesday (Sept. 9), Stone and Parker said they “take full responsibility” for the delay of the film, which is said to carry the working title Whitney Springs.
“We take full responsibility for the schedule delay of this movie,” the two said in a joint statement. “We apologize to our partners at pgLang and Paramount and we appreciate their patience. South Park and life’s circumstances have gotten in the way but we still believe in the project.”
The Ankler piece also cites as sources as placing the film’s cost at as much as $150 million, claiming that it is currently “stranded” under the Ellison-led company. Notably, there was no mention of Whitney Springs at CinemaCon earlier this year.
In addition to serving as a producer on the Vernon Chatman-penned project, Lamar is believed to have contributed music. The 27-time Grammy winner is joined as producer on Whitney Springs by Dave Free, Stone, and Parker.
Complex has reached out to Paramount reps for comment. This story may be updated.
This week, Stone and Parker trollingly announced that South Park would be changing its name to SOUTH AMERICA, a clear dig aimed at the current POTUS.
“Inspired by the bravery and patriotism of Apple and Google, we are changing the name of South Park to SOUTH AMERICA,” the two said in a statement shared with Complex. “We especially want to thank our parent company Paramount — a Skydance Capitulation.”
