Hotel Transylvania 4 Still on Track for August 2021 Release

Last winter saw confirmation by Sony Pictures Animation that Hotel Transylvania 4 was in the works and that it had a release date, December 22, 2021. Earlier this year while every other film was being delayed, pulled, and pushed back the new film in this hit animated series was moved up, now targeting an August 6, 2021 date. According to a new report the film remains on track for this debut, likely thanks to the animators of the film working from home like so many others these days. Variety also reports that actress Selena Gomez is set to return as Dracula's daughter Mavis for the film but has also secured a deal to serve as an executive producer on the film.

Despite creating the franchise and serving as the director for the first three films, legendary animator Genndy Tartakovsky will not return to direct Hotel Transylvania 4. Tartakovsky will still be involved in the series, working as screnewriter and executive producer, but the film will be co-directed by Jennifer Kluska and Derek Drymon. Kluska previously served as a storyboard artist for the second and third Hotel Transylvania movies and directed on the DC Super Hero Girls TV series. Drymon has dabbled in a number of animation projects over the years, spending most of his time with the SpongeBob SquarePants franchise.

It hasn't yet been confirmed if the other major stars of the series will return for the fourth film with the likes of Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg previously lending their voices to the franchise. Others that have lent their voices to the series include Kevin James, Steve Buscemi, David Spade, Fran Drescher, Molly Shannon, and even Mel Brooks.

Considering the financial success of the Hotel Transylvania it's likely that the talent involved will be wrangled back for another entry. Combined the first three movies have brought in over $1.3 billion at the worldwide box office, with the third film, Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation, sitting pretty as the highest grossing Sony Pictures Animation release of all time.

Tartakovsky remains a busy bee at Sony despite not directing the new film. According to the trade he's developing an R-rated comedy "Fixed" and action-adventure "Black Knight" for the animation wing, both of which he will direct. He's also set to premiere the next batch of episodes for his Adult Swim animated series Primal next month, with a second season order already ordered by the network.