Sony Pictures Animation put out a big pack of animated news today, including word on the CG Spider-Man film (more on that one here), and the reveal that Genndy Tartakovsky would return as director for a third Hotel Transylvania film.
Tartakovsky had previously said that he wouldn't be back for another go-around with the monsters-running-a-hotel comedy that features the voices of Adam Sandler, Selena Gomez, Kevin James and more, but that he'd apparently gotten some sudden inspiration “I thought I was done exploring the world of Hotel Transylvania after the first two films," he said, "but while I was away from the franchise finishing my TV show Samurai Jack, an idea sparked that I got really excited about and made it irresistible to return and helm myself this third adventure."
In related Transylvania news, the movie franchise is generating a TV-based spin-off focusing on Gomez's Mavis and her years as a teenage vampire before the first Hotel's story kicks in.
But that was just the tip of the 'toon news iceberg, as the studio also announced the logo for the film based on Emojis (which is a thing that is still happening). It's now called Emojimovie: Express Yourself, and will be out in August 2017. Before that, there's the previously announced new all-CG Smurfs offering, due in April 2017. Also on the film front, The Star, the movie once known as The Lamb, will tell the story of the Nativity from the point of view of a brave donkey and some animal pals.
Finally, the Hotel Transylvania series isn't the only one in development: the TV offerings also include one based on Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs and, more interestingly, Ecto Force, a Ghostbusters spin-off set in the future where a new generation of spook-hunters captures ghosts around the world with help from local teams and some new gadgets. That one is currently on track for a 2018 debut, signalling that Sony is leaning hard into the idea of a Ghostbusters universe.