Oscar-winning director Bob Persichetti has signed on to direct 'Puss in Boots 2'.
Antonio Banderas
The filmmaker who helmed 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse', which won this year's Academy Award for Best Animated Feature alongside Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman, Phil Lord, and Christopher Miller has joined the DreamWorks Animation 'Puss in Boots' sequel.
The original film, directed by Miller - which was a spin-off 2004's 'Shrek 2' - starred Antonio Banderas as the titular cat, was nominated for an Oscar and grossed more than $550 million worldwide and the character continued to be featured in subsequent 'Shrek' sequels and TV shorts.
The original prequel featured Salma Hayek (Kitty Softpaws), Zach Galifianakis (Humpty Alexander Dumpty), Billy Bob Thorton (Jack), Amy Sedaris (Jill) and Constance Marie (Imelda) and followed Puss as he is falsely accused of a bank robbery, even though the real villain is his friend, Humpty Dumpty - although there is still animosity between them, Puss and Humpty reunite to steal a goose that lays golden eggs.
Latifa Ouaou, who produced the first 'Puss in Boots' film, will oversee development of this film on behalf of Illumination and Meledandri alongside DreamWorks Animation leadership team.
The film's release date is yet to be revealed, however, animation on the film will take place in Glendale, California.
Persichetti is a veteran of animation for more than two decades, working on films with DreamWorks Animation and Disney such as 'Monsters vs. Aliens', 'Shrek the Halls' and 'The Little Prince'.
The filmmaker worked on 'Shrek 2' and served as head of story and voiced a role in the original 'Puss in Boots' and his recent project 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse' has racked up close to $360 million at the global box office.
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