Netflix Animation Restructuring With Gutting Layoffs; Becomes Skydance's New Partner
Skydance's jump from Apple TV+ comes as Netflix explored third-party output deals
Netflix’s animation unit and its film slate will soon be restructured. That means layoffs, position eliminations and two films currently in pre-production have been shut down. Exact numbers are unclear but they’re supposed to happen in coming weeks. The streamer confirmed such without speaking further.
Two films on the slate have been put into turnaround. The first was a previously unannounced film, Escape From Beverly Hills, which will now be shopped elsewhere. The second is Tunga, from Zimbabwe-born creator Godwin Jabangwe, which Netflix won at auction in 2019. Sent back into development, the film is rooted in the mythology of the Shona culture. It is unclear if these are the two films considered shut down or if they’re entirely separate.
Of the films Netflix showcased looks at while CinemaCon was happening in April, Nimona and Monkey King have been released, while Leo and Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget are very much on track for their November 21 and December 15 releases. The Ultraman movie Ultraman Rising will even get a showcase at Geeked Week the week of November 6. The other films Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie; In Your Dreams, That Christmas, and Thelma the Unicorn seem unharmed, and in fact Saving Bikini Bottom might be emblematic of what they’re looking for going forward.
Executive Karen Toliver was named animation vice president in February 2022, and ever since has been refocusing the long-term strategy while still committing to a hefty slate, per insiders. To do this, the division output deal offers to third-party producers to get their movies distributed as Netflix’s. Very quickly, one of those companies became known: Skydance Animation.
That’s right, on Wednesday, Skydance Animation ended its lucrative distribution pact with Apple Studios and ostensibly transferred it to Netflix, with its existing slate moving there exclusively. With Apple Studios, they only managed to release Luck, starring Eve Noblezada and Simon Pegg, to mediocre reception. The next film, Spellbound, starring Rachel Zegler and Tituss Burgess, was originally announced alongside Luck in 2020 when they were still partnered with Paramount. It will now kick off the Netflix distributions next year, with Pookoo following in 2025. It was claimed that Spellbound was “not a fit for Apple’s expanding narrative slate”, hopefully not Apple shutting itself off from having an animated film slate at all. Future films include the reportedly very troubled Ray Gunn, directed by Brad Bird and an untitled Jack and the Beanstalk project directed by Rich Moore.
The reason Paramount ended its deal with Skydance Animation in the first place while still partnering with them on live action films (as seen with the studio’s Hasbro adaptations and Tom Cruise movies) is Skydance Animation is currently headed by disgraced ex-Disney and Pixar CCO John Lasseter, who hasn’t quite shown remorse for his sexual harassment behaviors that forced him out. Apple is also still partnered with Skydance Media for live action films, a partnership resulting in them having The Greatest Beer Run Ever and Ghosted, with The Family Plan starring Mark Wahlberg and The Gorge starring Anya Taylor-Joy in the pipeline. Netflix has released Skydance’s The Adam Project, Spy Kids: Armageddon and The Old Guard, as well as series Grace and Frankie, Altered Carbon, and FUBAR.
