The massive deal between Skydance Animation and Netflix, originally announced back in 2023, is over.
“Netflix and Paramount have mutually agreed to conclude their animated film agreement. Both companies remain fully committed to the successful releases of ‘Ray Gunn’ and the untitled ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ project on Netflix, and additionally will continue their longstanding content licensing relationship,” both studios shared in a joint statement on Monday. “We are proud of our collaboration to date and look forward to bringing these upcoming films to audiences around the world.”
“Cosmic Motors,” a sort of “Cars”-in-space riff directed by Skydance Animation head John Lasseter and co-directed Louie Del Carmen, was intended for a Netflix debut but will now get a theatrical rollout courtesy of Paramount Pictures, intended for next year.
There were a number of factors that played into the split, we have been told, including the terms of the rich deal, which massively favored Skydance Animation, the fact that Netflix has a robust original animation slate all its own (including “Steps,” out this Thanksgiving, the first film fully produced within the Netflix Animation Studios pipeline) and the issue that Paramount, now controlled by Skydance, needs more theatrical product to meet its lofty 30-movies-a-year post-Warner Bros. acquisition goal set out by David Ellison.
What’s fascinating about the mechanics of the deal was that, under the original Skydance Animation/Netflix arrangement, Lasseter, the former head of both Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios, was exclusive to Skydance Animation and this pact. Now that the deal is over, Paramount could potentially install Lasseter as the head of Paramount Animation, which is currently being led by Jennifer Dodge.
For their part, Paramount insists that Dodge will continue to run Paramount Animation and that Skydance Animation will remain a standalone label, operating independently, under Paramount Pictures and will continue to be led by Lasseter, alongside President of Skydance Animation Holly Edwards.
The deal with Netflix followed a similar deal struck by Netflix and Apple. That produced a lone movie (2022’s “Luck”) and a television series (“WondLa,” which ran for three seasons).
There are a number of projects in development at Skydance Animation, although some of these projects were contingent on the Netflix deal, so we will see if they end up happening. Don Hall, a longtime Disney director, has a project in development, and Nathan Greno, who made “Swapped” for Skydance Animation and Netflix (it recently entered the list of most-watched animated original titles on the platform), also has a project in pre-production.
Among the projects being readied at Netflix Animation include “Charlie vs. the Chocolate Factory,” a new take on the beloved Roald Dahl stories that will get a wide theatrical release next year, an original “Ghostbusters” film made in collaboration with Sony Pictures Animation, an animated original from “The Sea Beast” director Chris Williams, Guillermo del Toro’s stop-motion “The Buried Giant,” and sequels to “Leo” and “KPop Demon Hunters” (the latter with Sony Pictures Animation).
