Skydance Media named Luis Fernández to the newly created role of Head of Consumer Products. In this role, Fernández will lead the company’s growing retail, merchandise and licensee partnerships across all categories of the company. With his extensive experience, including 20 years at The Walt Disney Company, Fernández will be responsible for driving the creative strategy, design and franchise development for the studio’s upcoming slate of live-action feature films and television with a strong emphasis on the growing portfolio for Skydance Animation.
Fernández joins the company on the heels of Skydance Animation’s recent announcement of an expansive multi-year partnership with Apple which includes the distribution of the studio’s first features Luck and Spellbound as well as two seasons of the animated series The Search for WondLa.
“Luis has both a keen design and business sense and has been instrumental in building some of the most iconic franchises ever, and we’re thrilled to have him join the Skydance team at this pivotal time,” said Jesse Sisgold, President & COO, Skydance Media and Holly Edwards, President, Skydance Animation. “He will be an incredible asset to the studio as we ramp up our consumer products division and will further our goal of offering fans a multitude of opportunities to engage with a film or show’s world long after the credits roll.”
“I am excited to join David, Jesse, John and Holly at Skydance,” said Fernández. “The stories that the studio is telling and the level of creative talent behind them is truly astounding and I can’t wait to begin to expand on these worlds, giving fans new ways to experience Skydance properties.”
Prior to joining Skydance, Fernández served as Senior Vice President and Central Creative in consumer products and interactive media at The Walt Disney Company where his responsibilities included design, branding, character art, marketing, music and fashion. While at Disney, he was the chief creative running design strategy on the company’s many franchises including Mickey Mouse, Disney Princesses, Disney Animation, Disney Channel, Pixar and Star Wars as well as Disney Parks & Resorts merchandise.
Skydance Animation’s feature slate includes Luck, directed by Peggy Holmes (Secret of the Wings, The Pirate Fairy) and starring Academy Award-winner Jane Fonda; Spellbound, directed by Vicky Jenson (Shrek, Shark Tale) with music and score by Alan Menken and lyrics by Glenn Slater; and Pookoo, written and directed by Nathan Greno (Tangled). In addition, the studio has a slate of soon-to-be-announced high-end animated series in various stages of development, the first of which is The Search for WondLa.
Skydance has a robust live action film slate featuring the highly anticipated Top Gun: Maverick, Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse, The Tomorrow War, GI Joe: Snake Eyes, The Adam Project, and the seventh and eighth installments of the Mission: Impossible series. Skydance Television, known for producing Netflix’s longest-running hit comedy series Grace and Frankie, is dedicated to developing a slate of elevated commercial content that transcends genres across multiple platforms. In addition to Grace and Frankie, Skydance Television’s slate includes Altered Carbon, Condor, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, Foundation and Reacher across a range of streaming and premium cable platforms.