Andy Yeatman has ambitious content plans to expand the universe of the US$1.5-billion Miraculous brand by giving Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir a fresh look, launching a spinoff series and introducing new heroes.
During his keynote presentation at MIP Junior on Saturday, the CEO of Miraculous Corp USA and global operations outlined what’s coming up for the franchise, which is gearing up to turn 10 in 2025. The company’s goal is to set up its characters to appeal to a new generation of viewers, said Yeatman.
Miraculous Corp is working on a 2D-animated spinoff tentatively titled Miraculous Stellar Force. It will be set in a new location (Tokyo versus Paris), and episodes are scheduled to start delivering next year.
The master plan, says Yeatman, is to introduce new teenage characters in a TV movie every year, and then give each set their own series. He likens the strategy to Marvel’s MCU approach, and envisions all of the characters eventually coming together.
Season six of Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir is due out in early 2025, and season seven is already in production. Using Unreal Engine to produce season six required the team to recreate every asset from scratch—a “big investment” in time, money and labor, says Yeatment—but it’s paying off in higher-fidelity images and more complex animation. A fifth TV movie in the Ladybug franchise is also in production and slated for release next year.
Yeatman was installed as CEO of Miraculous Group USA (a joint-venture between ZAG and Mediawan) in June, and he’s been busy implementing expansion plans ever since. His latest move was to hire Roz Nowicki as global head of consumer products and let her loose on developing new licensing and merchandising business for the brand.
Miraculous has 40 billion lifetime views on YouTube and a growing presence on social media, including six million TikTok followers. The company has been tapping into this digital audience with a short series called Miraculous Zag Chibi since 2018, and a full season of this format will deliver to both traditional broadcasters and digital streamers in 2025.
Yeatman also revisited some previously announced new projects in his keynote, including a second feature film (launching in 2026) and a live-action series that’s currently in development. “As we look to the future, we’re looking to build this super-popular show into a franchise universe, leveraging new characters, new formats, new experiences both digital and live, and new regions.”