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 Warner Bros. Animation, 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. 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”.
In 2011, Spaulding served as a producer for the Cartoon Network series ThunderCats, a reboot of the 1980s TV series of the same name. He directed three films in the DC Animated Movie Universe: Son of Batman and Batman: Assault on Arkham, both in 2014 (the latter of which he co-directed with Jay Oliva), and Justice League: Throne Of Atlantis in 2015. From 2017 to 2018, he directed the CW Seed web series Freedom Fighters: The Ray, which was later released as a feature film. He also directed the Lego films Lego Scooby-Doo! Blowout Beach Bash and Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: The Flash. In 2019, he co-directed the film Scooby-Doo! Return to Zombie Island alongside Cecilia Aranovich Hamilton.
Since 2020, Spaulding has directed three animated films based on the Mortal Kombat franchise: Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge, Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms, and Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match. He also produced the anime-inspired film Catwoman: Hunted in 2022.
In 2025, it was announced that Spaulding would executive produce the upcoming Avatar sequel series Avatar: Seven Havens.
Filmography
Film YearTitleDirectorStoryArtistProducerNotes2009Wonder WomanGreen Lantern: First FlightSuperman/Batman: Public EnemiesScooby-Doo! Abracadabra-Doo2010Justice League: Crisis on Two EarthsTom and Jerry Meet Sherlock HolmesScooby-Doo! Camp ScareSuperman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam2011Scooby-Doo! Legend of the Phantosaur2012Tom and Jerry: Robin Hood and His Merry Mouse2013Justice League: The Flashpoint ParadoxScooby-Doo! Stage Fright2014Scooby-Doo! WrestleMania MysterySon of BatmanBatman: Assault on ArkhamCo-directed with Jay Oliva2015Justice League: Throne of Atlantis2017Batman and Harley QuinnLego Scooby-Doo! Blowout Beach Bash2018Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: The FlashFreedom Fighters: The Ray2019Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th GhostScooby-Doo! Return to Zombie IslandCo-directed with Cecilia Aranovich Hamilton2020Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge2021Scooby-Doo! The Sword and the ScoobUncreditedMortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms2022Catwoman: HuntedTrick or Treat Scooby-Doo!UncreditedMortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind2023Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes and Huntsmen Part OneJustice League x RWBY: Super Heroes and Huntsmen Part TwoMortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match2024Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths - Part Three
Television YearTitleDirectorStoryArtistProducerNotes1995–2004The SimpsonsAssistant Director: 12 episodesCharacter layout artist: 27 episodes2005–2008Avatar: The Last AirbenderDirector: 12 episodesAssistant Director: 3 episodesStoryboard artist: 20 episodes2008–2009Batman: The Brave and the Bold8 episodes2011–2012ThunderCats26 episodes2013The Looney Tunes Show7 episodesGreen Lantern: The Animated SeriesEpisode: "Love Is a Battlefield"The Legend of KorraEpisodes: "The Sting" and "Light in the Dark"2014–2016Mike Tyson MysteriesDirector: 15 episodesStoryboard artist: 2 episodes2017–2018Justice League Action3 episodes2017Justice League Action ShortsEpisode: "True Colors"2017–2018Freedom Fighters: The Ray2027Avatar: Seven Havens
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