Apple TV+ and Skydance Animation end their partnership

While it will continue to have a deal with Skydance Media for tent pole live action film and TV fare, Apple TV+ is parting ways with Skydance Animation, the company run by former Pixar chief John Lassiter, reports Deadline.

The article says Skydance Animation will land in a new deal quickly, and Apple will give back to the company the project “Spellbound,” which had been set at Apple TV+ but will not move forward. Skydance and Apple will remain partnered on a number of upcoming feature film and TV series, but mutually agreed the animated feature was not the best fit for Apple Original Films’ expanding narrative film slate, according to Deadline.

Skydance and Apple made a multi-gear deal in 2021. The partnership resulted in one animated film, “Luck,” premiering on Apple TV+. A second film, “Spellbound,” is listed on the streaming service as “coming soon.”

“Spellbound” is a musical fantasy set in a world of magic where a young girl sets out to break the spell that has split her kingdom in two. No word on when/if/where it will debut.