Spaceballs Sequel Director Set to Helm Another Movie Based on a Beloved '80s Franchise

The director of the next Spaceballs movie is also set to bring the Care Bears to life in a new film.

Per Deadline, director Josh Greenbaum has officially signed on to direct a brand-new Care Bears feature film for Warner Bros. Pictures. The film will be executive produced along with Chris Bender and Jake Weiner for Good Fear, Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley for GoldDay, Sean Gorman and Daniel Barnes for Cloudco, and Sheila Walcotto for Warner Bros. No writer has been attached to the project as of yet.

Created by Elena Kucharik for the American Greetings greeting card company, the Care Bears themselves began as mascot-like figures meant to adorn various greeting cards and other stationery. The characters' iconic look was developed in part by Strawberry Shortcake co-creator Muriel Fahrion, who was one of the franchise's very first concept artists. Two years after they were initially developed, the Care Bears were introduced to the world at large across a range of plush dolls and other products in 1983.

The Care Bears Debuted in 1983

The Care Bears made their small screen debut that same year in the syndicated animated special, The Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings. Produced by Atkinson Film-Arts, the special became a fast-fan favorite among young viewers, leading to the development of a follow-up special in the form of 1984's The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine. One year later, the iconic cast of characters took to the silver screen with The Care Bears Movie, the resounding success of which more than cemented the franchise's place in the wider realm of pop culture.

The success of 1985's The Care Bears Movie, which raked in over $34 million at the box office on a production budget of only $2 million, only helped further the subsequent success of the Care Bears animated series when it debuted later that year. In the time since, the Care Bears franchise has come to consist of five more animated series and another nine animated films.

The Care Bears franchise has also come to consist of numerous comic books, board games, video games, and countless pieces of tie-in merchandise. In 2024, it was announced that the Care Bears would be crossing over with fellow '80s icon Strawberry Shortcake for a brand-new television special, The Care Berry Switch. The special is being produced as part of a collaboration between WildBrain Studios and Cloudco Entertainment, the respective owners of the Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake franchises.

Source: Deadline