‘Hoodwinked!’ Director Cory Edwards To Helm Animated Sci-Fi Comedy ‘Doomstar’ For ‘Shrek’ Producer & DNEG

EXCLUSIVE: Cory Edwards, whose credits include the big-grossing 2005 animation Hoodwinked! and the upcoming Netflix feature Fearless, has been attached to write and direct sci-fi animated comedy Doomstar: Janitorial.

The $20-25M project comes from Vanguard Animation, which is behind Fearless as well as recent features Gnome Alone and Charming, alongside DNEG Feature Animation, the production offshoot of the Oscar-winning VFX studio that was set up at its parent company in 2014.

Here’s the logline: Gabe is a lowly janitor on a powerful space station. When his own planet becomes the next target, Gabe and his blue-collar buddies attempt to sabotage the whole place. Aliens will chase them. Robots will taser them. But there’s nothing these guys can’t clean up.

“This one is special. It’s a script I’ve been working on for a long time, something I’ve wanted to make for several years,” said Edwards. “It’s really my love letter to 80s sci-fi, and pulling from touchstone comedies like Ghostbusters and Galaxy Quest. There will be lazy robots, there will be alien karaoke, there be janitors cleaning up acid blood. My goal is to fill the cast with as many funny people as possible and let them play a lot.”

Vanguard Animation’s John Williams, whose credits include the Shrek franchise, is producing with DNEG Animation chief Tom Jacomb. The pair are also in production on The Silk Road Rally with Riverstone Pictures, Kintop Pictures and DNEG subsidiary ReDefine; that film is repped by MadRiver International and CAA.

Fearless is set to debut on Netflix on August 14. The animated pic follows a pair of teenagers who take on the hardest babysitting job on Earth when three super-powered babies are unlocked from a video game.

“Cory did a great job as writer director of Fearless and Tom Jacomb and I had a great experience working on Valiant, Space Chimps and currently on The Silk Road Rally,” added Williams. “We intend to make this a spectacular animated comedy sci-fi adventure that’s super fun for the sci-fi genre fans and general audiences too.”

“This is a natural extension of DNEG’s Feature Animation plan to partner on the IP side of production,” added Jacomb. “John Williams and I go back a long way and DNEG is thrilled to working with Cory and John on this fantastic project.”

Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Shrek 3 writer Peter Seaman is also an executive producer on the pic and will contribute to story development. Carter Goodrich (Despicable Me) is working on character designs.

Eric Suddleson and Lars Theriot (Industry Entertainment) negotiated Cory Edwards’ deal.

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