‘Hello Kitty’ Movie Finds Directors in ‘Moana 2’ and ‘Ultraman: Rising’ Filmmakers
The upcoming “Hello Kitty” movie has found its directors.
David Derrick Jr. (“Moana 2”) and John Aoshima (“Ultraman: Rising”) will helm the film. Beau Flynn is producing. Former president of Paramount Animation Ramsey Naito (“The Boss Baby”) has also joined as a producer.Shelby Thomas is overseeing for FlynnPictureCo.
The film, which has spent several years in development, will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures Animation and New Line Cinema on July 21, 2028, and it marks Hello Kitty’s” Hollywood theatrical debut. The film will follow Hello Kitty and her friends on a cinematic adventure designed to delight audiences of all ages.
The current script is being penned by Jeff Chan with previous drafts by Dana Fox, Katie Dippold, Adam Sztykiel, Jenny Jaffe, Lindsey Beer and Tamara Becher-Wilkinson (from a treatment by Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon).
Both directors previously entered into overall deals with Warner Bros. Pictures Animation under Bill Damaschke. Flynn spent nearly a decade working with Sanrio founder Shintaro Tsuji to get rights to the character.
Japan’s Sanrio first introduced the adorable feline in 1974 and quickly unleashed a merchandising juggernaut, with entire stores devoted to thousands of items branded with Hello Kitty and her friends, such as Dear Daniel and superhero alter ego Ichigoman. There’s a Hello Kitty theme park in Japan, Hello Kitty cafés, dozens of video games and numerous collaborations for high-end clothing and other adult-targeted products. The English-language feature project was first announced by New Line in 2019, and was the first time Sanrio had licensed film rights to the classic cat.
David Derrick Jr. (“Moana 2”) and John Aoshima (“Ultraman: Rising”) will helm the film. Beau Flynn is producing. Former president of Paramount Animation Ramsey Naito (“The Boss Baby”) has also joined as a producer.Shelby Thomas is overseeing for FlynnPictureCo.
The film, which has spent several years in development, will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures Animation and New Line Cinema on July 21, 2028, and it marks Hello Kitty’s” Hollywood theatrical debut. The film will follow Hello Kitty and her friends on a cinematic adventure designed to delight audiences of all ages.
The current script is being penned by Jeff Chan with previous drafts by Dana Fox, Katie Dippold, Adam Sztykiel, Jenny Jaffe, Lindsey Beer and Tamara Becher-Wilkinson (from a treatment by Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon).
Both directors previously entered into overall deals with Warner Bros. Pictures Animation under Bill Damaschke. Flynn spent nearly a decade working with Sanrio founder Shintaro Tsuji to get rights to the character.
Japan’s Sanrio first introduced the adorable feline in 1974 and quickly unleashed a merchandising juggernaut, with entire stores devoted to thousands of items branded with Hello Kitty and her friends, such as Dear Daniel and superhero alter ego Ichigoman. There’s a Hello Kitty theme park in Japan, Hello Kitty cafés, dozens of video games and numerous collaborations for high-end clothing and other adult-targeted products. The English-language feature project was first announced by New Line in 2019, and was the first time Sanrio had licensed film rights to the classic cat.