According to Deadline, Apple has signed a multi-year contract with film producer-financier Skydance Media for the development and production of an annual slate of live-action movies to be released as Apple Original Films.
The agreement extends Skydance Media’s existing relationship with the tech and streaming giant, which already covered a number of live-action films and a multi-year partnership for animated films and series, including the Peggy Holmes-directed Luck and the Vicky Jenson-directed Spellbound, the animated series The Search for WondLa, and the short film Blush.
As for films, David Ellison’s Skydance and Apple already had a couple of projects in the pipeline, including The Greatest Beer Run Ever — director Peter Farrelly’s follow-up to Best Picture Oscar-winning Green Book starring Zac Efron and Russell Crowe, and the Dexter Fletcher-directed Ghosted, which is slated to start production shortly with Chris Evans and Ana de Armas.
In addition, AppleTV+ has the Skydance-produced David S. Goyer drama Foundation — an adaptation of the Isaac Asimov novels that premiered on the platform in September of last year and has already been renewed for a second season — and The Big Door Prize from Schitt’s Creek Emmy winner David West Read.
Partnering with an established production house like Skydance Media, which has helmed massive box office franchises like Mission: Impossible, Transformers, Star Trek, and Top Gun: Maverick is bound to give Apple a better chance at the prestigious awards it wants to pursue with its original content.
Earlier this week, Apple was graced with nine 2022 NAACP Image Award nominations for its Apple TV+ content.
