| Birth name | Ethan Spaulding |
|---|---|
| Birth place | United States |
| Occupation | Animation director · producer · story board artist |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Employer | Warner Bros. Animation |
| Notable works | Avatar: The Last Airbender ThunderCats Son of Batman Batman: Assault on Arkham Justice League: Throne of Atlantis |
Ethan Spaulding is an American animation director, producer and storyboard artist. He is well known for his work on the animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005–2008), directing 12 episodes and working as a storyboard artist on others. Following the conclusion of the series, he began working at Warners Bros. Animation,[1] where he served as a producer of the animated reboot series ThunderCats (2011–2012). He has since directed films from the Scooby Doo!, Mortal Kombat, and DC Comics franchises, among others.
Career
Spaulding spent a decade as a character layout artist on The Simpsons, starting in 1995.[2] Following his work on the show, he was hired as a storyboard artist on the Nickelodeon animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender. He made his directorial debut with the season 2 episode “Return to Omashu”.[2]
In 2011, Spaulding served as a producer for the Cartoon Network series ThunderCats, a reboot of the 1980s TV series of the same name.[3] He directed three films in the DC Animated Movie Universe: Son of Batman[4] and Batman: Assault on Arkham, both in 2014 (the latter of which he co-directed with Jay Oliva),[5] and Justice League: Throne Of Atlantis in 2015.[6] From 2017 to 2018, he directed the CW Seed web series Freedom Fighters: The Ray, which was later released as a feature film.[7] He also directed the Lego films Lego Scooby-Doo! Blowout Beach Bash[8] and Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: The Flash.[9] In 2019, he co-directed the film Scooby-Doo! Return to Zombie Island alongside Cecilia Aranovich Hamilton.[10]
Since 2020, Spaulding has directed three animated films based on the Mortal Kombat franchise: Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge,[11] Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms,[12] and Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match.[13] He also produced the anime-inspired film Catwoman: Hunted in 2022.[14]
In 2025, it was announced that Spaulding would executive produce the upcoming Avatar sequel series Avatar: Seven Havens.[15]
Filmography
Film
Television
| Year | Title | Director | Story Artist | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995–2004 | The Simpsons | Assistant Director: 12 episodes Character layout artist: 27 episodes | |||
| 2005–2008 | Avatar: The Last Airbender | Director: 12 episodes Assistant Director: 3 episodes Storyboard artist: 20 episodes | |||
| 2008–2009 | Batman: The Brave and the Bold | 8 episodes | |||
| 2011–2012 | ThunderCats | 26 episodes | |||
| 2013 | The Looney Tunes Show | 7 episodes | |||
| Green Lantern: The Animated Series | Episode: "Love Is a Battlefield" | ||||
| The Legend of Korra | Episodes: "The Sting" and "Light in the Dark" | ||||
| 2014–2016 | Mike Tyson Mysteries | Director: 15 episodes Storyboard artist: 2 episodes | |||
| 2017–2018 | Justice League Action | 3 episodes | |||
| 2017 | Justice League Action Shorts | Episode: "True Colors" | |||
| 2017–2018 | Freedom Fighters: The Ray | ||||
| Avatar: Safe Haven |
References
- ^ Dar, Taimur (2022-02-04). "INTERVIEW: Filmmakers Ethan Spaulding and Greg Weisman craft the purr-fect heist with CATWOMAN: HUNTED". The Beat. Retrieved 2026-05-07.
- ^ Henerson, Evan (2025-02-08). "Bending the Rules". Keyframe. Retrieved 2026-05-07.
- ^ Fowler, Matt (July 7, 2011). "Thunder Thursdays: ThunderCats Gets Dark!". IGN. Retrieved July 31, 2011.
- ^ Wolfe, Jennifer (April 16, 2014). "‘Son of Batman’ to Premiere at WonderCon". Animation World Network. Retrieved 2026-05-07.
- ^ "Warner Bros. Brings "Batman: Assault On Arkham" To DVD/Blu-Ray August 14.". Comic Book Resources. May 7, 2014. Archived May 7, 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
- ^ Lovett, Jamie (2014-10-02). "Justice League: Throne Of Atlantis Debut Trailer Released". ComicBook.com. Retrieved 2026-05-07.
- ^ "Freedom Fighters: The Ray goes from CW Seed to Disc in August". ComicMix. June 7, 2018. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
- ^ Gerding, Stephen (May 18, 2017). "EXCLUSIVE TRAILER: LEGO Scooby-Doo!: Blowout Beach Bash". CBR.com. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
- ^ Benardello, Karen (2018-03-10). "LEGO DC Super Heroes: The Flash Flying Onto Blu-ray and DVD". ShockYa. Retrieved 2026-05-07.
- ^ Motes, Jax (2019-09-03). "Get A Sneak Peek At The New Movie 'Scooby-Doo: Return To Zombie Island'". ScienceFiction.com. Retrieved 2026-05-07.
- ^ Trumbore, Dave (2020-01-28). "'Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge' Revealed in Epic First Trailer". Collider. Archived 2021-11-12 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2020-02-03.
- ^ Couch, Aaron (2021-06-16). "Animated 'Mortal Kombat Legends' Sequel Arriving This Summer (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived 2021-06-16 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
- ^ Vejvoda, Jim (2023-06-14). "Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match Exclusive: Full Voice Cast and Plot Revealed". IGN. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
- ^ Couch, Aaron (2021-08-17). "'Catwoman: Hunted' Sets Voice Cast (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived 2021-08-17 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
- ^ Otterson, Joe (February 20, 2025). "Avatar: Seven Havens Officially Announced, Set After the Events of The Legend of Korra". Variety. Archived February 20, 2025 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 20, 2025.
External links
- Ethan Spaulding at IMDb
- Ethan Spaulding on Instagram