Skydance Animation’s first feature film Luck is getting a big change behind the scenes. The picture is currently in production but will see a swap in the director’s chair. Alessandro Carloni (Kung Fu Panda 3) was primed to go from co-director to solo director on the pic, but creative differences have brought about a change. Now, Peggy Holmes (Secret of the Wings) will take over as director, per THR.

Luck, described as “a comedy that pulls back the curtain on the millenia-old battle between the organizations of good luck and bad luck that secretly affects our daily lives”, is expected to launch for the studio on February 12, 2021. We don’t have much more to go on than that at the moment except to say that the movie will not only be the first for Skydance Animation but also the first to feature involvement from studio head John Lasseter since his departure from Disney/Pixar.

Emma Thompson was once attached to the project but exited her voice role soon after Lasseter was hired to run the production company; she penned a well-reasoned letter to explain her departure.

Holmes, who also hails from Disney with co-director credits in the company’s Tinkerbell franchise, has decades’ worth of experience in the biz, including acting, writing, and choreography credits. The director’s chair for Luck comes as an add-on to her development deal with Skydance.

Here’s what Skydance Animation president Holly Edwards had to say about the news in a statement:

“Peggy is an incredible creative talent and has already been a huge asset to our growing animation studio over the past year. We’re so happy to have her leading the team creating Luck. She has the perfect mix of experience and artistic vision to bring this exciting project to the screen.”

Paramount Pictures will distribute Luck, which is a co-production from Skydance Animation and Paramount in conjunction with Spain’s Ilion Animation Studios.

via Collider