Flying Bark And Olan Rogers’ Lightfold Team Up For Original Animation Project

Australian animation studio Flying Bark Productions has partnered with Lightfold, the creator-led franchise development company co-founded by Final Space creator Olan Rogers and producer Forrester Kane, on a still-unnamed original project.

This is a particularly interesting pairing. Flying Bark is one of the most impressive indies working today, with a mile-long list of credits on several high-quality productions over the last several years, while Rogers is a real fan favorite with a huge cult following after striking a chord with Final Space. The companies say the collaboration grew from a shared interest in developing sustainable models for creator-led storytelling and bringing premium animation directly to audiences.

A brief teaser was shared to hype up the project, although plot details are still being kept under wraps.

Flying Bark CEO and president Barbara Stephen said in a release:

We are so excited to be collaborating with the Lightfold team who so obviously share our creative philosophy and passion. Together, our partnership will help us deliver new ways to support creators and bring premium animation directly to the fans who love them.

Flying Bark operates studios in Sydney, Los Angeles, and Madrid, producing traditional 2D, hybrid, and cg animation. Its recent projects include Netflix’s Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, Paramount’s Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender, and the original series Shaun Tan’s Tales from Outer Suburbia. The studio is currently working on Ghostbusters: Night Shift, Netflix series based on Clash of Clans and Minecraft, and its original feature Zac Power.

Lightfold was established by Rogers and Kane with a model built around developing original properties across animation, comics, games, and other media while cultivating direct relationships with fans. Its first major release was Rogers’ crowdfunded animated pilot Godspeed, which debuted on YouTube in 2023 and has since received more than 2.2 million views. According to the company, the pilot later secured a multimillion-dollar distribution deal and was selected for eight international festivals.

Rogers, Lightfold’s creative director and co-founder, said:

I’ve always wanted to build something with passionate storytellers who are genuinely good people, and that’s exactly what we found in Flying Bark. They’re my kind of people and the ideal partner for what we’re building with Lightfold. Together, we’re giving creators a path to bring original shows directly to fans, so studios like Flying Bark can keep doing what they do best: making killer animation.

Further information about the project, including its title, format, and release plans, will be announced later, and we’ll keep you posted.