As we roll into Comic Con International in San Diego this week, Dynamite Entertainment has announced a major new license: they will soon begin publishing comics set in the world of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas. Directed by Coraline‘s Henry Selick, the 1993 film has become a pop culture staple and one of the most popular holiday movies made in decades. Torunn Grønbekk (Thor, Red Sonja, Realm of X) is attached to write the first project, with releases set to begin in 2024. Dynamite have not yet released a ton of information, but will have two separate panels this week at Comic Con where information might drop.
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The Nightmare Before Christmas is turning 30, and that’s led to quite a bit of stuff already announced. Hot Topic revealed last week that they would launch an anniversary line of clothing and merch, while last month, we got an announcement that 30th anniversary Funko Pops were coming (of course).
Selick said in a recent interview that while talks of a sequel have come up over the years, the studio seemingly wanted him and collaborator Tim Burton to develop such a project with CG animation, which didn’t at all appeal to either of them.
Speaking to Collider back in September, Selick confirmed that a “sequel has come up several times. Initially, they always said, ‘But it will have to be CG.’ And that was a non-starter for me. It certainly was for Tim Burton.”
Thanks to Disney+, the studio now has a platform to release exclusive content and shorts, with a variety of beloved properties being revived with short-form content. Selick confessed that, while the idea of shorts hasn’t been discussed at this point, he could see Burton being on board with such an endeavor.
“The idea of a short has never come up in the past… I think that Tim might be open to a short,” the director detailed. “It would have to be so refreshing…such a new take to justify making a sequel, but a short makes good sense.”
Here’s the breakdown of Dynamite’s Disney-related panels:
Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas: Publishing
Thursday July 20
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM PDT
Room 28DE
Dynamite Entertainment Disney Titles 2023
Sunday July 23
11:30 AM – 12:30 PM PDT
Room 23ABC