Josh Cooley to Write and Direct ‘Malamander’ for Sony

Academy Award winner Josh Cooley (“Toy Story 4”) is ready to put in writing and make his live-action directorial debut with “Malamander” for Sony Pictures.

“Malamander” is the best-selling kids’s e-book written by Thomas Taylor. It is the primary story in a sequence concerning the “Legends of Eerie-on-Sea” that follows the adventures of Herbert Lemon and his buddy Violet Parma. The “Legends of Eerie-on-Sea” sequence has been bought in 20 languages worldwide thus far and “Malamander” has been chosen as a Children’s Book of the Month by a number of nationwide retailers and has garnered crucial acclaim and awards, together with a nomination for the celebrated Carnegie Medal. The sequel, “Gargantis,” was revealed within the UK on May 7 and can be out there within the U.S. on May 26.

Peter Kang will oversee the challenge on behalf of Sony Pictures.

Cooley received the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for “Toy Story 4” and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for “Inside Out.” This is the second challenge Cooley will tackle after signing on to direct an untitled animated “Transformers” prequel for Paramount. Hasbro’s leisure studio, eOne, will develop and produce that movie together with Paramount Animation.

Cooley is repped by Grandview and Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner & Klein. Taylor is represented by Kirsty McLachlan at David Godwin Associates.

The Hollywood Reporter first reported the information.