Netflix has landed the feature film rights to Sesame Street, the long-running children’s educational show. The deal caps off a bidding war between two major studios.
Rideback will produce the film. The production company is behind the billion-dollar live-action hits Lilo & Stitch and Aladdin. It’s run by Jonathan Eirich and Michael Lofaso. Rideback was already working with Sesame Workshop on an animation project, which gave it an early advantage. Sesame Workshop will also serve as a producer on the new film.
Netflix has so far declined to comment.
This deal brings Sesame Street fully under Netflix’s roof. The streamer already holds the television rights, which it acquired in May 2025.
The race for the movie rights took roughly a year. Sesame Workshop signed with CAA last fall. Initially, three studios competed for the prize: Netflix, Universal, and, according to sources, Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. had actually held the feature rights for about a decade. The studio never managed to get a Sesame Street movie made, though. It dropped out early amid its own acquisition drama, first involving Netflix, then Paramount.
Universal was a serious contender too. It had attached The Daniels, the Everything Everywhere All at Once duo of Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, to produce. Phil Lord and Chris Miller were also involved. Sources stress that none of these names were attached to direct.
In the end, Netflix won out. Sesame Workshop reportedly favored Rideback’s creative approach to the material. No director is currently attached to the project.
Sesame Street is home to some of television’s most beloved characters: Big Bird, Bert and Ernie, Grover, Oscar the Grouch, Cookie Monster, and Elmo. The franchise has spawned two previous theatrical films. Follow That Bird arrived in 1985, and The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland followed in 1999. Follow That Bird featured John Candy, Chevy Chase, and Dave Thomas alongside the puppet cast. Warner Bros. distributed that earlier film.
The Insneider newsletter first reported news of Netflix’s acquisition.
