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Hello Kitty's Hollywood Animated/Live-Action Film Hires Directors (Updated)

Entertainment news source The Hollywood Reporter posted on Tuesday that Warner Bros. Entertainment's New Line Cinema has hired animators Jennifer Coyle and Leo Matsuda as directors for its film adaptation of Sanrio's Hello Kitty franchise.

Coyle has previously worked on shows such as Harley Quinn and Bob's Burgers, while Matsuda has worked on numerous Disney CG titles such as Big Hero 6 and Zootopia. His directorial debut short "Inner Workings" was shortlisted for the Academy Awards in 2017.

Lindsey Beer (Chaos Walking) is the scriptwriter for the film. The company Known Universe, which Beer co-founded, will also serve as executive producer.

New Line Cinema and FlynnPictureCo are handling production and development of the Hello Kitty film, and Warner Bros. will handle the film's worldwide distribution. FlynnPictureCo's Beau Flynn is credited as producer, with Wendy Jacobson credited as executive producer. The film is the first time that the franchise will have a film produced outside Japan. Since the project is still in development, the team has not announced whether the film will be live-action, 2D animation, 3D CG, or another medium or hybrid, nor has it announced the film's release window.

Sanrio had announced in 2015 that it is planning a new Hello Kitty film. At the time of the announcement, the film had been slated for release in 2019.

Sanrio and French animation studio Monello Productions revealed in 2019 that they are developing the new The World of Hello Kitty animated series, scheduled for the first quarter of 2021 with 52 episodes.

Sentai Filmworks released the Hello Kitty & Friends – Let's Learn Together animated series as the first title in its new "Sentai Kids" imprint in 2018.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter (Mia Galuppo)

Update The film will be a hybrid of live-action and animation, and it will be Hello Kitty's first feature-length film. Source: Comic Natalie