'Golden Axe' Animated Series Coming To Comedy Central From 'Lower Decks' Creator Mike McMahan
'Golden Axe' Animated Series Coming To Comedy Central From 'Lower Decks' Creator Mike McMahan
What’s this? Comedy Central has LIFE in it? Perish the thought!
Another video game has been adapted into an animated series from CBS Eye Animation, but this one has an announced home, and is a bit more retro. A Golden Axe animated series has been greenlit at Comedy Central from co-creators Star Trek: Lower Decks creator Mike McMahan and Joe Chandler.
Golden Axe is a series of beloved sidescroller Sega games that began in 1989, and continued with sequels released in 1991, 1993, and 2008, a 1992 prequel Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder, and spinoffs Golden Axe Warrior, Ax Battler: A Legend of Golden Axe (both 1991) and Golden Axe: The Duel, which had a 1995 console release. At The Game Awards last year, Sega announced they were reviving a bunch of their dormant titles, Golden Axe among them, so hopefully the new series can synergize with that. Talks of adapting these games to film and television date back to 2014. The officially released description states the series “follows veteran warriors Ax Battler, Tyris Flare, and Gilius Thunderhead as they once again battle to save Yuria from the evil giant Death Adder who just won’t seem to stay dead. Fortunately, this time they have the inexperienced and underprepared Hampton Squib on their side.”
The voice cast is led by Liam McIntyre, known as the Arrowverse’s Weather Wizard and Captain Pyre on Star Wars: Resistance as Ax Battler, a barbarian warrior with a strict code of honor and “sweet golden retriever demeanor”. His heart outweighs his brawn, which in turn outweighs his brains. Matthew Rhys, known for The Americans and Perry Mason voices Gilius Thunderhead, a grumpy battle dwarf with exceptionally poor hygiene and a chip on his shoulder. Community and Avatar: The Last Airbender’s Danny Pudi voices Hampton Squib, a naive first time adventurer who is living a lifelong dream of questing. He hopes his can-do attitude can make up for his lack of skill and ability. Jury Duty’s Lisa Gilroy is Tyris Flare, a fearsome battle sorceress, deadly in a fight with sharp and deadlier wit and Lower Decks and Grand Crew’s Carl Tart as Chronos “Evil” Lait, a character that originates from Golden Axe III, who describes himself as a 100% badass humanoid panther. In actuality he’s uncomfortably cheesy and has a lot of trouble understanding situations.
McMahan and Chandler will co-write the first episode of the ten-episode series and serve as executive producers, while Chandler takes on showrunner duties. McMahan is also known for his time as a writer and executive producer on Rick and Morty and co-creating Solar Opposites. Chandler is an executive producer for American Dad whose history includes the Napoleon Dynamite animated series. Haruki Satomi, President and CEO of Sega Sammy Holdings Inc., Shuji Utsumi, president and COO of Sega Corporation, and Sega’s Toru Nakahara will executive produce as well with Neal H. Moritz, Pavun Shetty and Toby Ascher of Original Film, Titmouse’s Chris Prynoski, Shannon Prynoski, Antonio Canobbio and Ben Kalina as the latter are the animation studio. CBS Studios’ animation arm, CBS Eye Animation and Original Film will produce along with Sony Pictures Television. It comes as Sega continues its partnership with Original Film adapting its IP, which started with the Sonic the Hedgehog films that continue with the Knuckles series next week and a third film in December.
Star Trek: Lower Decks, McMahan’s first series produced by CBS Eye Animation and animated by Titmouse, was recently announced to be ending this fall with its fifth season. A Golden Axe animated series would pair well with the Among Us animated series that both are making with Infinity Train creator Owen Dennis. That show’s casting was announced in three pieces from mid-March to a couple of weeks ago. However, it hasn’t landed at a network or streamer yet.
That’s important because it really should be reiterated: Comedy Central’s scripted originals slate in general is currently anemic, with only South Park (and only 60% of recent seasons since the Paramount+ specials began), Digman! starring Andy Samberg which has been renewed for a second season after debuting in March 2023. Jodie lost its status as a long-term solution for the problem by transforming from a series to a movie long before it was canceled. It’s been silence about developmental progress for the Ren & Stimpy Show revival and the Everybody Hates Chris animated series for quite a bit, and who knows if Awkwafina will be able to fit Nora from Queens in her schedule anymore. These half a dozen programs cover all we know about Comedy Central’s current originals slate right now, hopefully both can give the channel the booster it needs.
Source: Variety