David Derrick Jr. and John Aoshima Are Pioneering the Hello Kitty Cinematic Universe

Amid a stressful election — the 2026 Sanrio Character Rankings, that is — we have some good news in the world of Hello Kitty and friends. David Derrick Jr. and John Aoshima (both over five apples tall) have signed on as the directors for the upcoming Hello Kitty animated movie produced by Warner Bros. Both have overall deals with Warner Bros. Pictures Animation under Bill Damaschke; Derrick Jr. previously co-directed Moana 2, and Aoshima co-directed Ultraman: Rising. Ramsey Naito is also joining the creative team as a producer. Beau Flynn of FlynnPictureCo. is producing as well, with Shelby Thomas overseeing. We’re still two years out from seeing Kitty on the big screen — the movie debuts on July 21, 2028 — but it at least gives movie theaters enough time to prepare for a new wave of cinema cuteness.

But what shenanigans will Kitty and friends get into for their first movie in America? If it’s anything like Hello Kitty Island Adventure, they’ll be jumping out of a plane in pursuit of friendship and forgiveness. The current script for the movie is being written by Jeff Chan, who wrote the rom-com Plus One; previous drafts were written by Dana Fox, Katie Dippold, Adam Sztykiel, Jenny Jaffe, Lindsey Beer, and Tamara Becher-Wilkinson. The original movie treatment came from Reno 911! and Night at the Museum writers Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon. If they need pitches, they should ask Badtz-Maru. He’s a movie guy, don’t you know?