Forging ahead St. Louis' Lion Forge Entertainment teams with Nickelodeon

Lion Forge Entertainment of St. Louis and Nickelodeon Animation are roaring with news they will team on “first-look” deal that includes animated series and features.

David Steward II, Lion Forge Entertainment founder, will continue his commitment to creating content with diverse voices is paramount to the agreement.

“Lion Forge Entertainment is on the vanguard of so many exciting and new stories being told in animation, and we are so incredibly happy to be entering into this deal to create new content together for our global audience,” said Ramsey Naito, Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Animation president.

Steward, who was recently named to The Hollywood Reporter list of The 75 Most Powerful People in Kids Entertainment, said he is thrilled to work with Ramsey and her world-class teams at Nickelodeon Animation.

“Nickelodeon has always been a creative north star, and the opportunity to partner in creating new content that features diverse characters and builds a path for diverse talent in the animation industry is incredibly exciting,” he said 

Nickelodeon Animation will have a first look at all Lion Forge Entertainment kids and family IP across animated series, features, short-form, and digital content. The company also may bring select Nickelodeon and Paramount IP to Lion Forge to develop and produce.

Stephanie Sperber, Lion Forge Entertainment president and chief content officer, said “we have a fantastic opportunity to impact kids and families around the world by showing diversity on screen as well as creating a pipeline for young diverse talent within the animation industry.

“Plus, Nickelodeon is one of the best franchise-builders in the business and will be an amazing partner as we together launch into other extensions.”

Lion Forge Entertainment, recently rebranded from the former Lion Forge Animation, hired Sperber for her new role in March. 

“Stephanie’s unparalleled experience, creative instincts, industry relationships, business acumen and work ethos will be a driving force for Lion Forge and pave the way for us to enter exciting new frontiers,” Steward said when Sperber came on board.

“The Lion Forge brand has stood for diversity and representation in animation for the past four years, and I’m thrilled to take that brand and that mission into the live action series and feature space.

“We believe that it’s important for kids and teens to see themselves and their experiences reflected in the content, and we look forward to showcasing stories across race, identity and gender for the kids, [young adults,] and family audiences.”

Deadline.com reports that future projects could include Born Driven, a story based on the life of Wendell Scott, the first Black NASCAR driver.

World Wide Technology Raceway (WWTR), Confluence Music Festival, The Wendell Scott Foundation and Neiman Marcus St. Louis partnered for Runway to Raceway, kicking off the Enjoy Illinois 300 weekend in June.

Designer Warrick Scott Sr., Wendell Scott’s grandson, helped stage the show and was in attendance. His wife Chinique Scott serves as the foundation’s executive director and was also a model in the show.

Other prospective Line Forge Animation/Nickelodeon projects included Iron Dragon, a comedy adventure based on an original IP created by Jay Kim at Mostapes studio in South Korea and Lion Forge, and Marley and the Family Band, an animated series based on Cedella Marley’s picture book, co-produced by Polygram Entertainment.

Lion Forge Entertainment is also working on an adaptation of the graphic novel series Iyanu: Child of Wonder. It is being crafted into a children’s animated series for HBO Max.

Nigerian creator Roye Okupe calls Iyanu: Child of Wonder “an epic superhero tale steeped in Nigeria’s rich culture, music and mythology.”

Steward and Lion Forge Entertainment are is also working with Nine PBS, local comic book author and illustrator David Gorden, and writer Ike Reed on the comic book adaptation of the PBS TV show “Drawn In.”

“Drawn In” is a series of comic adventure stories following the adventures of four Midwest kids who unabashedly love comic books. In each episode, their real world collides with the comic world when colorful heroes, villains, robots, and other fanciful creatures escape from the comic book's pages. The crew must analyze how to save their city from cartoon mayhem.