Paramount and Netflix End Their Animated Movie Deal, and John Lasseter’s First Film in 15 Years Is Moving to Theaters
Netflix and Paramount have officially closed the book on their animated movie partnership. The two companies confirmed this week that the multi-year deal bringing Skydance Animation’s slate to Netflix is done after three years, a split that sends John Lasseter’s long-awaited comeback film to theaters instead while two other titles stay exactly where they were headed.
Why the Deal Is Ending
Skydance Animation signed its Netflix distribution deal back in October 2023, shortly after leaving Apple, with Spellbound set up as the studio’s flagship release. That arrangement made a lot less sense once Skydance Media merged with Paramount Global in August 2025, folding an entire animation studio into a company that now wants its films in cinemas rather than handing them to a streaming rival. In a joint statement, the companies said they had “mutually agreed to conclude their animated film agreement,” while confirming that their broader content licensing relationship continues.
What Stays on Netflix
Two films made under the old deal are finishing it out on Netflix as planned. Ray Gunn, Brad Bird’s animated detective noir starring Sam Rockwell and Scarlett Johansson, still arrives December 18, 2026. An untitled Jack and the Beanstalk movie from Rich Moore is the last title covered by the agreement, though it has no release date yet. That project has an odd history of its own: it’s understood to be a reworking of Gigantic, a fairy tale adaptation Moore was developing at Disney years before it was shelved.
Cosmic Motors Is Heading to Theaters Instead
The clearest sign of Paramount’s new direction is Cosmic Motors, which was originally lined up for Netflix and is now moving to a theatrical release through Paramount Pictures in 2027. The film marks John Lasseter’s first time directing since Cars 2 in 2011, roughly 15 years, with Louie Del Carmen co-directing. Lasseter co-founded Skydance Animation after leaving Pixar and Disney, and getting a theatrical release for his return project is exactly the kind of promotional value Paramount didn’t get from the Netflix arrangement.
Spellbound launched the Netflix deal in 2024 and picked up an Emmy along the way, before Swapped became its biggest hit.
Spellbound Started It, Swapped Became Its Biggest Hit
Spellbound, directed by Vicky Jenson, was the first film released under the agreement back in November 2024 and won a Children’s & Family Emmy for Individual Achievement in Animation, specifically for its production design. The deal’s real breakout came in 2026, though: Swapped, the body-swap comedy starring Michael B. Jordan and Juno Temple, closed out its first 91 days on Netflix with 144.9 million views, finishing as the platform’s eighth most-watched original movie of all time.
Paramount Animation Is a Separate Studio
Worth clearing up: this only affects Skydance Animation, the studio Lasseter co-founded that’s now part of Paramount Skydance. Paramount Animation, the older, separate division behind projects like the SpongeBob movies, isn’t part of this deal at all and keeps operating exactly as it did before. Meanwhile, Netflix isn’t short on original animation to fill the gap, with Charlie vs. the Chocolate Factory, The Buried Giant, and further KPop Demon Hunters installments already in its own pipeline.
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