Kartoon Studios, the controlling partner of Stan Lee Universe signed a deal with the U.K.’s GFM Animation Limited “GFM,” ("10 Lives", "X Factor In The Jungle", "The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie") to develop, finance, and produce a dynamic slate of five animated feature films, marking a significant milestone in the development of projects from the extensive SLU catalogue featuring stories and characters created by legendary comic book creator Stan Lee.
Kartoon Studios’ new partnership with GFM, which develops, produces, finances, and sells independent movies, aims to bring to life select properties from the SLU catalogue, each project chosen through mutual selection for their potential to appeal to a broad audience demographic and families. GFM has assembled team of LA-based talented writers with previous experience of working across Marvel projects, to develop the first scripts, working alongside the GFM team in London and Kartoon Studios. The first three treatments will be ready for presenting to distributors at the forthcoming Cannes Film Festival.
Gregg Goldin, SVP, Development & Production, Kartoon Studios described the importance of continuing Stan Lee's legacy:“Through Stan Lee Universe, we are dedicated to continuing the legacy of one of the most iconic and prolific creators in the world, who continues to inspire fans globally with recent mega-hits such as 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse'. These new projects, developed from Stan’s original ideas, will introduce his magic to younger generations and continue to engage his loyal fans. Our new partner, GFM, has a history of producing quality films for the entire family, and fresh off their successful debut of '10 Lives' at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, they continue to prove their expertise in the independent animation landscape. We are excited to partner with them on this ambitious slate of projects," commented.
FInally, Guy Collins, Chairman, GFM Animation made reference to the honor involved in continuing the story of the pop culture icon.“Stan Lee is a singular creator. The stories and characters Stan created and co-created have mesmerized multiple generations of fans across the globe for many decades. We are honored to partner with Kartoon Studios and Stan Lee Universe to celebrate Stan’s tremendous contributions to pop culture and entertainment by bringing quality animated films for all ages to big screens around the world," stated.