Warner Bros., via Wizard World, has officially announced that a new Thundercats cartoon series is coming next year. With this announcement, and the announcement of Icon Heroes Staction Figures based on the original series, it’s pretty much a given that a new toy line will follow.
THUNDERCATS, HO!
WARNER BROS. ANIMATION ANSWERS THE CALL WITH A NEW
TAKE ON THE CLASSIC ANIMATED SERIES “THUNDERCATS,”
TO AIR ON CARTOON NETWORK
(June 3, 2010 – Burbank, CA) – Warner Bros. Animation (WBA) has begun production on “ThunderCats,” an all-new animated series for Cartoon Network, based upon the iconic 1980s action classic. “ThunderCats” is the newest series from WBA, joining “Batman: The Brave and the Bold,” which was recently renewed for a third season, and the following forthcoming programs: “The Looney Tunes Show,” “MAD,” “Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated” and “Young Justice.” The announcement was made today by Sam Register, Executive Vice President, Creative Affairs, Warner Bros. Animation.
“In addition to being Warner Bros. Animation’s first anime series, ‘ThunderCats’ marks our most ambitious foray yet into fantasy,” said Register. “The realism and dynamic visual style we’ve achieved are sure to thrill viewers, and the cool weapons, vehicles and technology should help the show appeal to a diverse audience.”
The 21st century reimagining of the series marks a creative collaboration between WBA and Studio4°C, one of the most vibrant animation studios in Japan, with credits including “The Animatrix,” “Gotham Knights” and “Halo Legends.” WBA is working closely with Studio4°C, utilizing the latter’s expertise to give the “ThunderCats” characters a new cutting-edge look while remaining true to the compelling storylines and mythology of the original series.
“We at Studio4°C are excited to be in this creative partnership with Warner Bros. Animation to bring ‘ThunderCats’ to life,” said Eiko Tanaka, President and CEO, Studio4°C. “This collaboration combines the strengths of our two companies – high production values and great storytelling – toward reintroducing this classic fan-favorite to a new audience.”
Roaring to life through WBA and Studio4°C’s use of the Japanese animated artistry of anime, “ThunderCats” characters Lion-O, Mumm-Ra, Panthro, Cheetara and others will spring off the screen with realistic cat-like characteristics inconceivable in previous incarnations.
The new “ThunderCats” will appeal to viewers who have loved the characters all their lives as well as young newcomers to the franchise. A sweeping tale combining swords and science and boasting ferocious battles with the highest of stakes, the grand origin story of Prince Lion-O’s ascension to the throne – and of those who would thwart his destiny at any cost – takes on epic dimensions in this sharp new telling. As the forces of good and evil battle each other in the quest for the fabled Stones of Power, Lion-O and his champions learn valuable lessons of loyalty, honor and mortality in every episode.
“ThunderCats” is executive produced by Sam Register (“Teen Titans,” “Ben 10,” “Batman: The Brave and the Bold”). Michael Jelenic (“Batman: The Brave and the Bold,” “Wonder Woman”) and Ethan Spaulding (“Avatar: The Last Airbender”) are the producers.
- Thundercats 2011 Lion O
Thundercats Return With New Cartoon
Old news now, but, thoughts?
Personally, I can't wait. Bring it!
i can't wait as well it's about damn time thundercats got some love..
I'm a massive fan of the '80s cartoons I grew up with (I was born in 1980), and I'm really enjoying the insurgence of modern-day remakes. I really enjoyed the 2002 version of He-Man, fully loved Transformers Animated, the recent DC (Young Justice) and Marvel (Avengers, Fantastic 4, X-Men Evolution, Wolverine & the X-Men) cartoons have been generally good, but I am totally stoked for Thundercats.
I just really hope it doesn't get cut off in its prime, as He-Man and TFA did. The fans of He-Man had promises of the Horde making a full return (bringing a certain Force Captain Adora with them), with series 3 to end in a four-way war between the Masters, Skeletor's Evil Warriors, the Snake Men and the Horde. The series' outline was written and finalised, but MYP and Mattel fell out over certain characters (Mattel apparently did not want Scare-Glo or Clamp Champ to be featured, they were both to be key characters in the series).
Transformers Animated got as far as having toy prototypes being developed for series 4. Around 50% of the scripts exist, and a lot of information (updated character designs, plot developments, etc.) has been released. There are rumblings that IDW have a deal with Marty Isenberg, the writer, to bring the stories into comic form, but not until the Dark of the Moon hype dies down, so that's Q1 2012 at least, a full 3 years after the last epsiode of Animated aired.
Now, I'm not wanting to put the kiss of death on the series before it starts, but these shows seem to start out with immense stories that really seem to be leading somewhere, all for them to be canned before their potential is realised.
I'm keeping everything crossed that it does not happen to TC!
I look forward to checking it out, hopefully they keep the basic character personalities in place and take a modern approach to story telling.
I cannot wait. Thundercats is one of the very few lines I collect, so the fact that there's new breath in the line/mythos has me uber-geeking.
I too hope that the storytelling follows the lines of Renegades/Prime...but only time will tell.
I am looking forward to this. I hope it's good and takes off. Can't wait!
anybody heard when it's gonna premier?
let me guess more news after toy fair
I'm sure ToyFair will answer most questions.
At this point, what exactly do we know? From the news on this site, I can tell that outside of the core Thundercats, Grune has been confirmed from the toy line, as have the Thunderkits, Slithe (wasn't it always Ssslythe before?), Claudus, Snarf, the Thundertank (the Lynx) and, of course, Mumm-Ra.
There's also a story on the main page which contains a spoiler that I'm assuming has been read if you choose to continue reading this post:
If Lion-O and Tygra are at the very least half-brothers due to their shared father, doesn't that mean that Tygra, as the elder brother, by rights should be heir to the Sword of Omens and, therefore, leadership of the Thundercats? Unless Tygra was Claudus' illegitimate son.
Either way, that's gonna cause some conflict between the two at some point, don't you think?
I can't wait for it. I agree in that I hope it lasts longer than the Masters of the Universe 200X series. One of my recent favorites.
If Lion-O and Tygra are at the very least half-brothers due to their shared father, doesn't that mean that Tygra, as the elder brother, by rights should be heir to the Sword of Omens and, therefore, leadership of the Thundercats? Unless Tygra was Claudus' illegitimate son.
Either way, that's gonna cause some conflict between the two at some point, don't you think?
So, did the Toy Fair throw up any dates in terms of when to expect to see this? The Mumm-Ra design looks awesome, and I like the Slithe update. Snarf looks a lot more like a domestic animal now, the narrower snout & eyes gives him a pet cat-like look. It's odd that the Tower of Omens so early when we never even got those episodes here in the UK, I hope Cat's Lair doesn't get passed up in favour of the Tower...
I didn't miss it, they still haven't announced when this show will be starting, right?
Ok, from the trailer it would appear that my (and Hammerhand's) hopes of a Tygra/Lion-O rivalry is going to happen, as there are several shots of them fighting.
Also, this screen would suggest that Mumm-Ra has gotten over a certain weakness he once had...
Overall, looking good.