WB Hiring Chris Columbus and Tim Story To Develop New SCOOBY-DOO and TOM AND JERRY Movies
Warner Bros. has big plans for Scooby-Doo and Tom and Jerry. They are moving forward with new animated feature films for these properties and thy’ve hired top talent to lead the charge on them.
According to Variety, the studio is bring on Tim Story (Fantastic Four, Shaft) to direct Tom and Jerry and Chris Columbus (Harry Potter, Home Alone) to be a creative producer on the Scooby-Doo movie. Tom and Jerry will be a live-action/animated hybrid and Scooby-Doo will be animated.
The report goes on to say that the studio “understands how much of its history is rooted in these iconic characters, and wants to give them as much attention as DC and Harry Potter projects.” That’s great to hear! I love these properties and it would be great to see them get awesome film franchises that the fans will enjoy.
It’s also explained that the studio is looking to have the animation and live-action creative teams working closely together on these new projects:
Warner Bros. is aiming for a balance of animated features and live-action hybrids, and in a rare move, the studio has made a concerted effort to make sure the animation and live-action teams are working hand in hand in developing these projects, something rarely seen at other studios. Executives also understand that for the animation to be strong for the hybrid projects, the VFX some studios use won’t work as well as going through the animation process, starting with storyboarding the characters, instead of pre-vis, to help develop each individual’s arc.
It’s good to see them putting in effort to ensure they deliver the best quality films that they can. Apparently, Story is a big fan of Tom and Jerry as well and he is excited about directing the film. Fans of Tom and Jerry will also be happy to hear that the characters won’t talk in the film:
Sources also say that since Tom and Jerry didn’t speak and relied on physical comedy to draw laughs, this version will stick to that style and not cast actors to voice the duo.
Tom and Jerry is expected to be the first live-action hybrid to go into production and they are looking to shoot in 2019. The other major live-action hybrid expected to go into production at WB soon is the sequel to Space Jam with LeBron James. They are also developing a Wile E. Coyote vs. ACME hybrid feature, with Chris McKay from the Lego universe helping develop it.
As far as Scooby-Doo goes, it’s expected to be released in early 2020. Columbus’ interest in this film started while he was developing the Gremlins reboot. Insiders say his “affection for the character and WB animation was apparent, and he was soon asked to join the production as a creative producer working side by side with director Tony Cervone.”
The studio is also developing a Jetsons animated movie with Matt Lieberman and Sausage Party director Conrad Vernon. They are also working on The Flintstones and Wacky Races movies.
The studio obviously has big plans to ramp up their animation film divisions. Hopefully the film project turn out as good as they are hoping. Are you excited about these Tom and Jerry and Scooby-Doo films?