Oscar-winning filmmaker and longtime DreamWorks Animation collaborator Guillermo del Toro has signed a multi-year exclusive deal with the studio to make animated family films.

From his new office at DreamWorks’ Glendale campus, the Mexican filmmaker will write, produce and direct films for the studio working alongside DreamWorks Animation Film Group president Chris deFaria. He will also collaborate with deFaria and the studio’s artists and technologists to improve how the company’s pilot programs develop techniques for telling stories across multiple content platforms.

Del Toro began his relationship with DreamWorks Animation on the feature film side nearly a decade ago as a creative consultant on Megamind (2010) followed by executive producer roles on Puss in Boots (2011), Rise of the Guardians (2012) and Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016).

He most recently switched to TV as creator and executive producer of Trollhunters, a multiple Emmy Award-winning Netflix original series co-produced by DreamWorks Animation Television (headed by Margie Cohn). Following the show’s second season premiere last December, Netflix and DreamWorks announced that the series would be part of a larger trilogy called Tales of Arcadia. The next original chapters, 3 Below and Wizards, are expected to launch on Netflix in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

Del Toro’s distinguished film career spans genres from fantasy and science fiction, to action, horror and the supernatural. His latest feature, The Shape of Water, took home four Academy Awards this year, including Best Picture and Best Director. Other credits include Hellboy, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Pacific Rim, Pan’s Labyrinth and The Book of Life.

The director’s new extended partnership with DreamWorks follows an announcement from Netflix that it will make its foray into animated feature film production with Pearl Studio, the company formerly known as Oriental DreamWorks. Netflix’s first project, musical adventure Over the Moon, marks its first animated feature under the leadership of former Oriental DreamWorks CCO and Kung Fu Panda producer Melissa Cobb, who joined the SVOD last September as VP of kids and family.