Apple ends partnership with John Lasseter’s Skydance Animation, Apple TV+ no longer behind ‘Spellbound’ animated film

October 18, 2023

2 min read

Surprising news in the animated movie space for Apple TV+. Deadline exclusively reports that Apple and Skydance Animation have mutually agreed to end their partnership. As part of the dissolution, Apple is relinquishing rights to the planned Spellbound animated movie project.

Skydance Animation, headed by ousted Pixar chief John Lasseter, delivered just one animated movie for Apple TV+, called Luck, during the studio partnership. Luck, however, was well underway before Lassiter joined the project.

“Skydance and Apple will remain partnered on a number of upcoming feature film and TV series,” Deadline writes, “but mutually agreed the animated feature was not the best fit for Apple Original Films’ expanding narrative film slate.”

As Deadline notes, Skydance at large has a slate of films and TV series that will be distributed through Apple TV+.

However, it’s hard not to believe that Apple made the decision based on the reception to Luck and expectations for Spellbound, despite reporting that the decision to no longer work together was mutual.

Update: Skydance Animation and Spellbound are going to Netflix. “Additionally, Skydance’s The Search for WondLa, an animated series based on the book series by Tony DiTerlizzi, will still debut on Apple,” writes The Hollywood Reporter.