Emma Thompson has dropped out of Skydance Animation’s animated project “Luck” over concerns about working with the division’s newly hired head John Lasseter, an individual with knowledge of the situation told TheWrap.
Lasseter joined Skydance in January, reporting directly to CEO David Ellison, after being forced out of Pixar and Disney last June after acknowledging “missteps” in his behavior with female staff members. In November 2017, shortly after the ouster of indie mogul Harvey Weinstein, Lasseter took a six-month sabbatical from Pixar after multiple accusations of misconduct.
Reps for Thompson and for Skydance had no comment.
Thompson and the rest of the voice cast had not officially been announced by Skydance, but the actress had attended several recording sessions and has now quietly left the film. “Luck,” which is directed by Alessandro Carloni (“Kung Fu Panda”), is slated for release sometime in 2021.
“Luck” is a comedy about the behind the scenes forces of good luck and bad luck that govern the world and secretly affect our daily lives. Thompson was meant to voice the head of the good luck organization.
Lasseter joined Skydance in January in the hopes that he could help bolster the studio’s animation division. And Holly Edwards, who was previously the animation division’s head of production, was promoted to president of Skydance Animation in February.
After Lasseter’s hiring, Ellison issued a note saying that they “have not entered into this decision lightly.” Read the full note here.
Thompson stars in the Mindy Kaling-written comedy “Late Night,” which Amazon Studios acquired in Sundance last month, and also provides a voice for the Laika animated film “Missing Link.”
THR was first to report the news of Thompson’s exit from “Luck.”