Hello Kitty just might be one of the most ubiquitous pop culture figures, with the adorable mascot still gaining fans after all these years. In 2019, it was announced that Hello Kitty would be getting a live-action/animated hybrid film -- and now we know who will be directing it. On Tuesday, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Jennifer Coyle and Leo Matsuda are set to direct the feature film, which comes from New Line Cinema. The script for the film is being written by Lindsey Beer, whose credits include Sierra Burgess Is a Loser, Chaos Walking.
Coyle has served as a storyboard artist on projects like The Wild Thornberries, Rocket Power, and King of the Hill. She also has served as director and showrunner of DC Super Hero Girls, and has helmed nineteen episodes of Bob's Burgers and six of The Spectacular Spider-Man. She most recently serves as a supervising producer on HBO Max's Harley Quinn.
Matsuda has worked on the animation departments for The Simpsons Movie, Big Hero 6, Zootopia, and both Wreck-It Ralph movies. He also directed and wrote Inner Workings, a short that debuted before Disney's Moana.
New Line's Hello Kitty film will mark a milestone for the character, as it is the first time that the film rights to Sanrio characters have been in the hands of a major film studio.
“I am extremely pleased that Hello Kitty and other popular Sanrio characters will be making their Hollywood debut. Hello Kitty has long been a symbol of friendship and we hope this film will only serve to grow that circle of friendship around the world,” Shintaro Tsuji. Sanrio founder, president and CEO, said in a statement earlier this year.
“Hello Kitty has been one of the most beloved characters around the world for the last forty-plus years,”
Flynn stressed following the March announcement.
“We’re incredibly honored that President Tsuji has entrusted us with the responsibility of bringing her story to the big screen globally for the first time ever, and it’s a dream that we get to do this with our long-term partners at New Line and Warner Bros. With the positive and family-oriented values that Hello Kitty and Sanrio embody, there has never been a better time than now to share her message with the world!”
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