Apple in Talks to Pick Up Two Animated Films Produced by John Lasseter

Apple is in talks to acquire the rights to two animated films from Skydance Animation, which is headed up by John Lasseter, reports Variety.

Apple TV Ray Light 2 Purple
Lasseter is the former chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar, but he departed the company in 2018 following allegations of sexual misconduct and has been at Skydance Animation since 2019. Prior to joining Skydance Animation, Lasseter directed popular Disney movies that include Toy Story, Cars, and A Bug's Life, plus he executive produced many others.

Apple is interested in the rights to his two newest movies, "Luck" and "Spellbound." "Luck" has been called "vintage Lasseter" with dazzling production value and commercial appeal. It follows the unluckiest girl in the world.

When she stumbles upon the never-before-seen world of good and bad luck, she must join together with magical creatures to uncover a force more powerful than even luck itself.

"Spellbound" is a musical fantasy that's set in a world of magic where a young girl aims to break the spell that has split her kingdom in two.

If Apple acquires the rights to the two movies, they could see a premiere in theaters before coming to Apple TV+, but the deal has not yet been finalized. "Luck" is set to be released on February 18, 2022, while "Spellbound" is slated for release on November 11, 2022.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Popular Stories

Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

Apple to Make More Foldable iPhones Than Expected

Tuesday December 9, 2025 9:59 am PST by
Apple has ordered 22 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for the first foldable iPhone, signaling a significantly larger production target than the display industry had previously anticipated, ET News reports. In the now-seemingly deleted report, ET News claimed that Samsung plans to mass-produce 11 million inward-folding OLED displays for Apple next year, as well as 11 million...
iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island

iPhone 18 Pro Leak Adds New Evidence for Under-Display Face ID

Monday December 8, 2025 4:54 am PST by
Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker. According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds Second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Monday December 8, 2025 10:18 am PST by
Apple today seeded the second release candidate version of iOS 26.2 to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming one week after Apple seeded the first RC. The release candidate represents the final version iOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found. Registered developers and public beta testers can download the betas from the Settings app on...
Google maps feaure

Google Maps Quietly Added This Long-Overdue Feature for Drivers

Wednesday December 10, 2025 2:52 am PST by
Google Maps on iOS quietly gained a new feature recently that automatically recognizes where you've parked your vehicle and saves the location for you. Announced on LinkedIn by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps' senior product manager, the new feature auto-detects your parked location even if you don't use the parking pin function, saves it for up to 48 hours, and then automatically removes it once...
Johny Srouji

Apple's Chipmaking Chief Johny Srouji Responds to Report About Him Potentially Leaving

Monday December 8, 2025 9:23 am PST by
Apple's chipmaking chief Johny Srouji has reportedly indicated that he plans to continue working for the company for the foreseeable future. "I love my team, and I love my job at Apple, and I don't plan on leaving anytime soon," said Srouji, in a memo obtained by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Here is Srouji's full memo, as shared by Bloomberg:I know you've been reading all kind of rumors and...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Monday December 1, 2025 2:40 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
google pixel 10

Switching Between iPhone and Android Will Get Easier With New Apple and Google Collaboration

Monday December 8, 2025 11:10 am PST by
Apple and Google are teaming up to make it easier for users to switch between iPhone and Android smartphones, according to 9to5Google. There is a new Android Canary build available today that simplifies data transfer between two smartphones, and Apple is going to implement the functionality in an upcoming iOS 26 beta. Apple already has a Move to iOS app for transferring data from an Android...
Apple Fitness Plus expansion hero

Apple Fitness+ Coming to 28 New Regions With Digital Voice Dubbing

Monday December 8, 2025 6:19 am PST by
Apple today announced that Fitness+ is expanding to 28 new markets on December 15 in the service's largest international rollout since launch, accompanied by new language dubbing and a K-Pop music genre. Apple Fitness+ will become available in Chile, Hong Kong, India, the Netherlands, Singapore, Taiwan, and additional regions on December 15, with Japan scheduled to follow early next year....
Johny Srouji

Apple Chip Chief Johny Srouji Could Be Next to Go as Exodus Continues

Sunday December 7, 2025 10:41 am PST by
Apple's senior vice president of hardware technologies Johny Srouji could be the next leading executive to leave the company amid an alarming exodus of leading employees, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. Srouji apparently recently told CEO Tim Cook that he is "seriously considering leaving" in the near future. He intends to join another company if he departs. Srouji leads Apple's chip design ...

Top Rated Comments

buckyballs Avatar
65 months ago
And we're just going to ignore exactly why he left Disney?
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BC2009 Avatar
65 months ago
Lasseter has publicly apologized for his behavior. He said:


“I am deeply sorry for my actions, which were unquestionably wrong. I very much regret making women feel unsafe or disrespected. I will continue to work every day for the rest of my life to prove to you that I have grown and learned. I am resolute in my commitment to build an animation studio upon a foundation of equality, safety, trust and mutual respect for everyone.”
I don't believe people should be condemned and shunned for life for doing something that was not even a crime. Even criminals get released from prison (often early on parole). Give the guy a second chance and see if he has learned his lesson. I am glad that he is making films again and Apple is picking them up -- he is definitely a very talented person -- he has made many of my favorite movies. If Lasseter falls back into habits of bad behavior then I may think differently.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
street.cory Avatar
65 months ago
Apparently Lasseter's allegations aren't as serious as they were once thought... Or Apple is willing to look the other way as long as the content is good.

Either way, I enjoy the stuff that he's been instrumental in developing.

Edit: I hope the allegations are not true.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ramashalanka Avatar
65 months ago

What allegations?
2.4 Allegations of sexual misconduct and exit from Disney/Pixar ('https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lasseter#Allegations_of_sexual_misconduct_and_exit_from_Disney/Pixar')
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mavman Avatar
65 months ago

The only allegations were that he occasionally gave co-workers “unwanted hugs.” Which is absolutely ridiculous. Sure, it’s probably appropriate to ask someone before giving them a hug... but cone on. He got booted for being a teddy bear.

Lasseter is a good guy, and I can’t wait to see his future films!
Next you’ll tell us how Weinstein is good guy as well?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
neuropsychguy Avatar
65 months ago

Next you’ll tell us how Weinstein is good guy as well?
I'm not defending Lasseter but there's a large difference between the Weinstein (sexual assaults and rapes) and Lasseter (sexual harassment) allegations.

The commenter you replied to was misunderstanding or minimizing the severity of the allegations against Lasseter but you jumped in with what's effectively Godwin's Law.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)