Brian Kesinger, a filmmaker, author and illustrator who’s worked on animated movies like Tarzan and Frozen 2, will head a new animated project at Marvel Studios.
Kesinger shared the news on his Instagram page, saying he can’t divulge the name of the project just yet, but he did say it’s “very cool.”
“*EXCITING NEWS* I can’t believe I actually get to say this but this fall I will be directing a new animated series at marvel studios! I can’t share any more details yet because the project hasn’t been announced but I can say it’s VERY cool! Thanks to everyone who has supported me on my artistic journey. Excelsior!”
Kesinger was hired by Disney as a fresh-faced youth when he was just 18 years old, according to OC Weekly. One of his first projects he worked on for the company was the 2009 ABC-TV Christmas short, Prep & Landing, about elves and a sled. He’s also worked on Moana, Zootopia and he illustrated a comic book for Marvel’s Groot.
He’s also credited with bringing steampunk into the Disney Universe when he worked on Atlantis: The Lost Empire.
“I was on Atlantis for about a year and a half, drawing rivets, gears, pressure valves. I wasn’t doing a lot of character work. So when it came time to drawing characters for [the Story Department], I was a bit self-conscious because I didn’t have much practice. So I started drawing these characters with gears and rivets over the hard parts to draw, and it turns out that ‘Oh, that’s steampunk!’”
We’ll have to wait and see if Kesinger’s new project involves any steampunk but we’ll let you know as soon as we hear anything else.