Brad Bird’s Long-Planned 1906 San Francisco Earthquake Project Takes Shape
At the recent San Diego Comic-Con 2026, acclaimed director Brad Bird revealed his ambitious plans to transform his long-developed project about the devastating 1906 San Francisco earthquake into a gripping miniseries.
This project has been in the works for nearly two decades, with the first reports of Bird’s interest in adapting it as a feature film emerging as far back as 2007. Initially intended to be Bird’s live-action directorial debut, the project ultimately stalled due to creative challenges rather than budget constraints, as some online sources had previously suggested.
Bird, known for his work on The Incredibles and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, explained that as he delved deeper into researching the 1906 earthquake, he encountered an overwhelming amount of material that made it difficult to condense the story into a single film. ‘The deeper I dug, the more stuff [I’d find],’ Bird noted, emphasizing the complexity of the project.
The director’s decision to adapt the project into a miniseries seems to be a natural fit, given the sheer scope and scale of the story. ‘It’s probably like eight episodes,’ Bird estimated, ‘but it has the greatest build ever. It’s not just the earthquake, it’s the fire after the earthquake.’
Bird’s comments were made during the Brad Bird: My Cinematic Journey panel at SDCC, hosted by Collider EIC Steven Weintraub. When asked about the project’s potential, Bird highlighted the massive scale of the disaster, with the fire that followed the earthquake fueled by gale-force winds.
While the 1906 miniseries remains a top priority for Bird, he also touched on other projects in development. The animated movie Ray Gunn, set to release on Netflix this fall, was mentioned as one of the director’s current projects. Incredibles 3, which will be directed by Pete Sohn (Elemental), was also brought up during the panel. Bird confirmed that he is co-writing the film alongside Dana Murray and will be producing, with longtime collaborator Michael Giachinno set to return as composer.
Bird’s involvement with Incredibles 3 was met with excitement from the audience, with the director joking that the film’s score would be handled by ‘the ghost of Jerry Goldsmith’ before playfully hinting that Giachinno would indeed be returning to work on the project.
When asked about another potential project that could potentially precede the 1906 miniseries, Bird revealed that it would be a live-action film featuring animation. Although details were scarce, Bird’s enthusiasm for the project was palpable, leaving fans eagerly anticipating more information in the future.
