‘Raya And The Last Dragon’s Don Hall Developing Original Animated Feature For Skydance Animation

Don Hall, the Academy Award-winning director behind such modern animated classics as Raya and the Last Dragon, Moana and Big Hero 6, has closed a deal to create, develop, and produce an original animated feature for Skydance Animation.

No specific details on the project were disclosed.

A two-time Oscar nominee who won his first statuette for Best Animated Feature as co-director of 2014 Disney title Big Hero 6, Hall was most recently nominated for his work on Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon in 2022. Also known for co-directing Moana and directing both Strange World and 2011’s Winnie the Pooh, he began his career at Walt Disney Animation Studios, where he worked on a number of beloved animated features including Tarzan, The Emperor’s New Groove and Chicken Little before rising to the position of Head of Story on Meet the Robinsons and The Princess and the Frog.

While at Disney, Hall worked as part of the studio’s prestigious Story Trust and creative leadership team, contributing to many of its recent hit releases including Frozen, Zootopia, Tangled, and Wreck-it Ralph. Additionally, he served as executive producer on the Disney+ series Baymax!.

Last year entering into an expansive multi-year partnership with Netflix to develop and produce features for the streamer, Skydance’s next films coming up for release include Vicky Jenson’s Spellbound, which will debut on the platform later this year, and director Nathan Greno’s Pookoo. Future films include Ray Gunn, directed by Brad Bird, and an untitled Jack and the Beanstalk project directed by Rich Moore. The animation studio’s television slate includes WondLa, which premieres June 28 on Apple TV+.

Kicking off its slate with the short film Blush, which world premiered at Tribeca and is now streaming globally on Apple TV+, Skydance last year premiered its first animated feature, Luck, on the same service.

Reportedly, David Ellison’s Skydance Media is close to completing an anticipated merger with Sheri Redstone’s Paramount Pictures.

Hall is repped by UTA and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole.