Marge Dean has been appointed as Head of Skybound Entertainment’s Animation Studio.
The Emmy-winning animation industry veteran will be based out of Los Angeles, overseeing production on all of Skybound’s original animated content. As she drives development and the overall creative vision of the studio, she will collaborate closely with its top leadership as well as a range of affiliated creators and producers.
Dean’s immediate focus in joining Skybound will be the company’s partnership with Amazon Studios on production of the second and third seasons of its hit animated series Invincible, which she will exec produce alongside Skybound founders Robert Kirkman and David Alpert, Catherine Winder and Simon Racioppa.
“Marge Dean is a respected authority in the world of animation, and her veteran leadership is critical for the growth of our original and franchise animation content,” said Alpert, who serves as Skybound Entertainment’s CEO. “We believe Marge’s presence is a huge boost to secure top animation talent across the Skybound portfolio.”
“I’ve always admired Skybound’s creator-driven spirit, and it’s a company rich with content,” added Dean. “I’m excited to join the company during this phase of growth and evolution, and look forward to working closely with Skybound leadership and creative teams on these amazing properties.”
Known for building both studios and animation pipelines, Dean has played a major role in shaping or reshaping entities including Columbia-TriStar TV, Warner Bros. Animation, Mattel’s Playground Production, Steve Oedekerk’s Omation, Technicolor Animation and Wildbrain Entertainment. Before joining Skybound, she served as Head of Studio at the preeminent anime distributor, Crunchyroll.
Prior to her time there, she served as General Manager of Southern California’s largest stop-motion studio, Stoopid Buddy Stoodios. There, she supervised the production of Adult Swim’s Emmy-winning series Robot Chicken and Netflix’s Buddy Thunderstruck, also expanding the studio’s work in both 2D and 3D CGI mediums.
Dean also serves as President of Women in Animation, an advocacy organization dedicated to advancing women and underrepresented artists in the field of animation.
Since its launch in 2010, Skybound Entertainment has also brought forth franchises including The Walking Dead and the popular card game Superfight. The company maintains key partnerships across the entertainment industry with such entities as Universal Pictures, Image Comics and Audible, while engaging an ongoing strategic business partnership with mobile games publisher and developer 5th Planet Games.
