EXCLUSIVE: Apple Studios has announced that it will no longer be working with Skydance Animation, the company led by former Pixar chief John Lassiter. While Apple will continue its partnership with Skydance Media for live-action film and TV projects, their multi-year deal specifically for animation has come to an end.
Apple’s decision comes as the company focuses on other types of films, such as the highly anticipated “Killers of the Flower Moon,” which is set to open globally on Friday. The decision to part ways with Skydance Animation was a mutual agreement, as both parties felt that the animated feature “Spellbound” wasn’t the best fit for Apple Original Films’ expanding narrative film slate.
However, despite the separation, Apple and Skydance Media will still be collaborating on a number of upcoming feature films and TV series. Apple TV+ has several ongoing projects with Skydance Media, including acclaimed series like “Foundation” and “The Big Door Prize.” In addition, there is an upcoming comedy in the works that reunites stars Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey.
Upcoming Apple Original Films produced by Skydance Media include “The Family Plan,” an action-comedy feature starring Mark Wahlberg and directed by Simon Cellan Jones. Other projects include the genre-bending action film “The Gorge” starring Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy, as well as “Mayday,” a new feature film written and directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, with Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh set to star.
Apple Studios has an impressive lineup of films in the pipeline, in addition to “Killers of the Flower Moon.” This includes “Napoleon,” an epic directed by Ridley Scott and starring Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby, as well as the Matthew Vaughn-directed spy thriller “Argylle” featuring Henry Cavill, Sam Rockwell, and Bryce Dallas Howard, among others.
Other notable projects include “Blitz” directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Steve McQueen, and a Formula 1 feature film starring Brad Pitt, directed by Joseph Kosinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.
While Apple’s partnership with Skydance Animation may be ending, their collaboration with Skydance Media continues to flourish. Both companies are committed to delivering high-quality content that will captivate audiences on the Apple TV+ platform.