The creators of Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep have pulled out of a deal to be part of a £3.2bn theme park touted as a British rival to Disneyland.

In 2015, Aardman Animations struck a deal with the company behind the development in Kent, known as the London Resort to potentially turn its characters into themed rides and attractions.

The theme park project, which has been beset by delays and was originally expected to open this year, started with a tie-up with Paramount Pictures, the Hollywood studio behind blockbusters such as Mission: Impossible, Star Trek, Transformers and The Godfather. However, Paramount, which lent its name to the resort, pulled out in 2017.

London Resort’s memorandum of understanding with Aardman Animations said the deal would “bring a number of the nation’s favourite characters to the resort and introduce them to a whole new international audience”.

However, a spokeswoman for Aardman told the Guardian the company is “no longer involved with this project”. A spokesman for London Resort Company Holdings said: “The partnerships are under continuous review and when the agreement with Aardman expired both parties decided not to renew the partnership.”

On Monday, ITV struck a deal to turn children’s shows, led by animated series Thunderbirds Are Go, into attractions at the theme park. Thunderbirds returned to TV in 2015 five decades after Gerry Anderson’s “supermarionation” puppets first appeared on ITV.

The BBC signed a similar deal in 2014, which could lead to attractions based on shows from Doctor Who to Top Gear. Fifty rides and attractions based on popular film and TV shows have been planned for the park.

Billions have been invested in the London Resort, which is expected to open in 2024, with construction due to start in 2021. It will be the size of 136 Wembley stadiums and aims to attract 50,000 visitors a day and offer 3,500 hotel rooms. The south-east of England location was chosen to position the park as a rival to Disneyland Paris.