Somehow, Wes Anderson continues to dodge the played-out-hack bullet with every new film. The pastel colors and personal belongings that continue to define his characters are quickly becoming stale, despite the new thematic ground he continues to break. But Anderson is now taking a different direction with The Fantastic Mr. Fox — a stop-motion adaptation of the Roald Dahl novel — and My Best Friend — a remake of the 2006 French film Mon Meilleur Ami.

Working off other people’s source material is possibly the best move Anderson can make. He has the talent and vision to be one of the great American auteurs, but he’s continually stuck inside his own world. Filtering his directorial vision through another’s work could break him out of his mold and bring a new dynamic to his own projects. According to Variety, Anderson is penning the My Best Friend now that he has finished directing Fox. The Fantastic Mr. Fox is looking at a Nov. 2009 release date, says IMDb.