Daily News Bytes: ‘Coco’ Trailer’s a Taste of La Chancla, J.J. Abrams Feels the Force & More

J.J. Abrams to Write and Direct ‘Star Wars: Episode IX’
The man behind the lens flare-spangled reboot of Star Trek has signed on to the next installment of Lucasfilm’s iconic franchise, replacing Colin Trevorrow (Jurassic World) as director and set to co-write with Chris Terrio (Argo). Disney has pushed Episode IX’s release date to Dec. 20, 2019, and will instead slot Guy Ritchie’s live-action Aladdin in its previous May 24 window. (Video)

Lesley Will Open Digital Animation Center in Spring, Building with $6.9M Donor Gift
An anonymous donation to the Cambridge, Mass. university will be used to expand its College of Art & Design with 11K sq. ft. of renovated teaching and academic space, including an interdisciplinary animation studio, VFX studio, and digital fabrication studio.

CALL FOR ENTRIES: Stuttgart Festival of Animated Film 2018
The huge Deutschland toon-do is gearing up for its 25th edition! Submit your shorts, student films, kid-targeted shorts & series or features produced after Oct. 2016 by the December 1, 2017 deadline. The ITFS ‘18 is set for April 24-29. Check out the beautiful (and colorfully comical) new trailer!

Venice Film Review: ‘Cinderella the Cat’
Variety lauds the Italian toon feature’s “slick, creative animation and enjoyable tunes.” The hybrid technique flick is co-directed by Alessandro Rak with his collaborators from The Art of Happiness: Ivan Cappiello, Marino Guarnieri and Dario Sansone.

Disney-Pixar’s ‘Coco’ – “Find Your Voice” US Trailer
The new spot for the studio’s Thanksgiving release will help you get to know more about Miguel’s family on both sides of the mortal veil. Directed by Lee Unkrich and co-directed by Adrian Molina (Monsters University story artist), the film features the voices of Gael García Bernal, Anthony Gonzalez, Benjamin Bratt, Renée Victor, Ana Ofelia Murguía, Jaime Camil, Sofía Espinosa, Luis Valdez, Lombardo Boyar, Edward James Olmos, Alanna Ubach, Selene Luna, Alfonso Arau, Herbert Siguenza, Octavio Solis, Gabriel Iglesias, Cheech Marin and Blanca Araceli. (Read more here.) Coco opens Nov. 22 with a new Frozen short.

Coco