A small woodland creature and a majestic bird, two natural sworn enemies of The Valley, magically trade places and set off on an adventure of a lifetime.[1]
In February 2018, it was announced thatNathan Greno had signed a multi-year contract withSkydance Media to write and direct an animated film provisionally titledPowerless, as well as consult on projects in development.[2] In January 2019,Skydance Animation hired formerPixar andWalt Disney Animation Studios CCOJohn Lasseter as head of Animation.[3] The project reunited Lasseter with Greno, who had previously co-directedTangled (2010) under Lasseter's leadership at Walt Disney Animation Studios.[4] In April 2020, Greno's film was revealed to be retitled toPookoo.[5] In October 2023,Siddhartha Khosla was revealed to be composing the film's score.[1] In October 2025,Skydance Animation Madrid's VP of Finance and Operations, Carolina Borreguero Sanz, confirmed that the studio had delivered the film, which had been retitled fromPookoo toSwapped.[6][7][8]Michael B. Jordan andJuno Temple were revealed as cast members the following month.[9] In January 2026,Tracy Morgan andCedric the Entertainer were revealed as cast members.[10] That same month, Tim Mertens, editor ofWreck-It Ralph (2012), was revealed to be the editor ofSwapped.[11]
Swapped was originally intended to be released onApple TV+, but in October 2023,Netflix took over the film's distribution rights from Apple, as part of a new multi-year deal with Skydance Animation, while setting it for a 2025 release.[1] In June 2025, Netflix announced that the film would premiere in 2026.[12][13][10] The film was screened in its only theatrical release at the Sebastiani Theatre in Sonoma on January 9, 2026, ahead of its release on Netflix later in the year.[11]
In June 2024, a first look of a rendered image from the film was released in Netflix'sNext on Netflix: Animation 2024 presentation.[14] In June 2025, Netflix revealed a second rendered image at theAnnecy Film Festival.[13]
