Bill Damaschke, a veteran animation executive who has held top positions at DreamWorks Animation and Skydance Animation, is reportedly in final talks to become the new head of Warner Animation Group as the studio looks to recover from the slings and arrows of the Warner Bros. Discovery merger. He is expected to report to Warner Bros. Pictures film heads Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, but his title is not yet known.
Damaschke joined DreamWorks Animation in its early days in 1995, climbing to the rank of COO and shepherding the studio through the productions of hit CG animated features including Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon and The Croods, as well as the extension into live productions like Shrek the Musical.
After some 20 years at DWA, he briefly headed the newly formed Skydance Animation in 2017 before moving to Broadway, where he produced multi-Tony-winning Moulin Rouge! The Musical and The Prom.
Warner Animation Group launched with the critical and box-office hit The LEGO Movie in 2014, which was followed by several sequels through 2017, when the studio’s partnership with the toy brand ended with The LEGO Ninjago Movie. Most recently, WAG released the fully-animated DC League of Super-Pets The label has also delivered hybrid flicks Tom & Jerry and Space Jam: A New Legacy.
Having shelved its Scoob! sequel Scoob! Holiday Haunt , WAG’s production slate includes Oz adventure Toto, due in 2024, and hybrid Looney Tunes feature Coyote vs. Acme, starring John Cena and Will Forte. The studio has had a vacant helm since EVP Allison Abbate left last summer amid the post-merger turbulence.
[Source: The Hollywood Reporter]
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