Mr X VFX Studio Returns Under Dennis Berardi with Bold Relaunch
The legendary visual effects house Mr X VFX Studio is officially making a comeback. Once thought to be a name buried in the past, Mr. X is re-entering the VFX spotlight following the collapse of the Technicolor group. The revival is led by founder Dennis Berardi, who has reclaimed the brand he built from the ground up and is breathing new life into it with an independent vision.
Originally launched in 2001, Mr. X quickly established itself as a force in the visual effects industry. Under Berardi’s leadership, the studio worked on major titles like Vikings, Penny Dreadful, Godzilla, X-Men: Days of Future Past, and Maleficent. In 2014, Mr. X was acquired by Technicolor, a move that eventually saw the studio fade into the background as Technicolor prioritized its flagship brands: MPC, The Mill, and Mikros Animation. By 2021, Berardi had left the group to start a new venture, Herne Hill Media.
Years of corporate restructuring and financial instability within Technicolor led to the shutdown or sale of many of its creative divisions. This disruption created the perfect opportunity for Berardi to buy back the Mr. X name and reposition the studio on his own terms. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Berardi announced that Herne Hill Media will now officially rebrand as Mr. X, marking a new chapter for the company—and the industry.
Mr. X’s revival is more than a name change; it’s a return to artist-first storytelling. The newly reformed studio boasts a team of over 100 artists, including more than 60 who were part of the original Mr X VFX Studio. The vision is clear: prioritize creativity, independence, and collaboration in a way that’s often lost in large-scale corporate structures. “Mr. X was built on the belief that great visual effects are more than technology—they’re storytelling at its most ambitious,” Berardi said. “This relaunch is about reclaiming our independence and putting artists back at the center of everything we do.”
The first project of this new era is a high-profile one. Mr X VFX Studio will handle visual effects for Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, set to premiere on Netflix on October 17, 2025. The collaboration comes as no surprise, given Berardi’s long-standing creative partnership with del Toro on films such as The Shape of Water. This new project not only marks Mr. X’s return but also solidifies its place among the top-tier visual effects studios operating today.
The leadership team behind the reboot includes Berardi as Founder, Creative Director, and VFX Supervisor. He is joined by Dave Sauro as Executive Producer, Mark Hammond and Ben King as VFX Supervisors, Brandon Schaafsma as Head of Production, and Jordan Nieuwland as Art Director. Together, they bring a strong combination of legacy knowledge and forward-thinking creativity to the reimagined studio.
For those in the visual effects world—and especially for aspiring artists and students—the return of Mr. X sends a powerful message. It proves that even in an era dominated by corporate consolidation, creativity and artistic vision can still reclaim their place. The new Mr. X is not just back; it’s positioned to lead the next wave of storytelling in visual effects.
