As part of the Annecy Animation Film Festival, Warner Bros.' newly appointed President of Feature Animation Bill Damaschke promised a rebranding of the division with a greater focus on filmmakers.
Since David Zaslav was appointed the studio's CEO, we've seen a number of finished projects scrapped, including a sequel to 2020's Scoob! It appears that might have all been part of long-term plans to revive this arm of Warner Bros., and it sounds like Damaschke's experience at DreamWorks Animation working on original IP will be a big part of future plans.
However, confirmed to be among the projects on the way is a new Flinstones animated feature titled Meet the Flinstones.
That's in early development but looks set to be an origin story for the iconic characters that presumably explains how they met and puts a fresh spin on a franchise we're all familiar with.
Other projects on the way include Dave Green-directed Coyote vs. Acme, produced by Chris DeFaria and James Gunn. The plan is to ultimately release two animated theatrical titles a year.
The Flintstones is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the activities of the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighbours, the Rubbles.
It was originally broadcast on ABC from September 30, 1960, to April 1, 1966, and was the first animated series to hold a prime-time slot on television. There have since been countless revivals and a number of TV shows and movies set in that world.
There were even a couple of live-action efforts, The Flintstones and The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas.
This sounds like a positive move from Warner Bros., though many animation fans remain anxious to learn what will become of Warner Bros. Animation's direct-to-DVD DC Animated Universe offerings. Hopefully, we'll get an update on that front soon.