A Thai-inspired animated feature in development at Sony Pictures Animation has been quietly shelved after more than two years of work, with the studio reportedly deciding the project was “not commercial enough to produce.”
The cancellation was revealed by animator and writer Matt Braly in a lengthy Instagram post shared earlier this year. While Braly did not name the studio directly, Sony Pictures Animation had announced in 2023 that it was developing a feature from Braly alongside writer Rebecca Sugar.
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“At the very start of 2025 I received the unfortunate news that the movie I had been working on for 2+ years at a major animation studio would not be moving forward,” Braly wrote.
“I’m super proud of the lovely script that Rebecca Sugar and I wrote together and am disappointed that you will all likely never get to see the film. I had a really supportive development team, but the film was ultimately judged as not commercial enough to produce. I understand these decisions are not made lightly and have nothing but respect for the studio, which continues to put out amazing films.”
According to Braly, the cancelled film followed a teenage boy who travels into the world of Thai spirits in a race against time before a major medical procedure. He described it as “a teen boy traveling to the world of Thai spirits in order to cure himself just before undergoing a very scary & life altering operation necessary to live.”
He added that it was “not a story about finding a cure so much as it was about learning to accept one’s unchangeable circumstances with grace, and realizing that a different life than expected can still be a wonderful one.”
The project also carried deep personal meaning for Braly, who has spoken openly about living with a chronic illness. “It was a deeply personal story for me as I was diagnosed with an incurable chronic illness at a very young age that brought permanent changes to my lifestyle,” he wrote. “Not only that but it would have been an honor to bring more Thai culture to the big screen, a torch I hope someone else picks up.”
While the film will not move forward, Braly shared artwork created during development, offering a glimpse into what might have been. “Hopefully you can close your eyes and imagine how cool the film would have been if completed. I won’t lie – this decision really knocked the wind out of me for a few months and I struggled to find enthusiasm to be creative again,” he wrote. “With some space though I think the experience has strengthened my resolve about what I’d like to pursue next and how I’d like to go about doing it.”
The cancellation adds to ongoing conversations around risk, representation, and commercial viability in mainstream animation — particularly for stories rooted in non-Western cultures that rarely make it to the global big screen.
Read more: Netflix Unveils 2026 Southeast Asian Content Featuring Key Filipino, Thai, Indonesian Projects
Meanwhile, Netflix is leaning harder into Southeast Asia with a 2026–2027 slate, and the Thai lineup in particular signals a confident “cinematic renaissance” driven by big local stars and genre range,
Nadech Kugimiya leads Surapong Ploensang’s The Debt Collector as a former enforcer haunted by his past, while Pimchanok Luevisadpaibul anchors two contrasting vehicles—My Dearest Assassin (a young woman raised by killers fighting for freedom) and Empress of Flames (a mythical-kingdom revenge drama)
The slate rounds out with headline titles like The Evil Lawyer starring Rhatha Phongam and The Red Line by Sitisiri Mongkolsiri (due in March), about scam victims taking justice into their own hands, collectively showcasing Thailand’s current wave of storytelling across gritty thrillers, heightened period/mystical drama, and offbeat tonal swings.
