Paramount Pictures has tapped UK-based studio Locksmith Animation for an exclusive co-development and co-production partnership, encompassing a pipeline of animated features and projects.

Terms of the deal include three current Locksmith properties that the London-based company has been developing since its 2014 founding by writer/director Sarah Smith (Arthur Christmas) and producer Julie Lockhart (Shaun the Sheep Movie, Pirates! In An Adventure with Scientists!).

The yet-to-be titled films will enter into production within a year. The  first motion picture is scheduled to hit theaters in 2020.

Dedicated to high-end CGI feature animation, Locksmith was launched with funding support from media business leader Elisabeth Murdoch.

The deal follows Paramount/Hasbro’s appointment of Akiva Goldsman to helm the writer’s room for the studios’ cross-property live-action film universe.