WB Discovery Updates: Adult Swim Announces New Anime And Festival, Rooster Teeth, And More
Info about the future release of RWBY Volume 9 will be made at RTX in June and is expected to premiere sometime later this year. This is in addition to Crunchyroll streaming the English dub adaptation of RWBY: Ice Queendom later this year. The anime series is being produced by Shaft and directed by Toshimasa Suzuki, with Kenjirou Okada in charge of chief direction, Gen Urobuchi in charge of animation concept, and Tow Ubukata in charge of script; in addition, Huke designed the character concepts, and Nobuhiro Sugiyama designed the characters for animation.
News about Tuca & Bertie’s season three premiere date should be announced sooner, rather than later. When we get an update we will post. Tuca and Bertie season two is also expected to be announced for HBO MAX drop soon.
Adult Swim announced the greenlight of two all-new anime series: Rick and Morty: The Anime from director Takashi Sano (Tower of God) and Ninja Kamui from director Sunghoo Park (God of High School, Jujutsu Kaisen). Both series are in production and will premiere on Adult Swim and HBO Max.
Based on the Emmy-award-winning adult animated series, Rick and Morty: The Anime is a 10-episode adventure debuting on Adult Swim and HBO Max. Sano previously directed two anime shorts, “Rick and Morty vs. Genocider” and “Summer Meets God (Rick Meets Evil),” which received widespread fan and critical acclaim upon release, generating over 10 million combined views on Adult Swim digital platforms.
While celebrated anime director (and Rick and Morty superfan) Sano will adapt themes and events of the main series, Rick and Morty: The Anime will stand on its own as an original work. “The multiverse-straddling exploits of Rick and the gang pose challenges to the family bond, but they always rise to the occasion,” Sano explains. “It’s such a life affirming sight, and Jerry is no exception.” He adds, “I am honored to have been given an opportunity to tell a new story about this amazing family. I hope you enjoy their adventures!”
Like Sano’s previous Rick and Morty anime shorts, the series is from Telecom Animation Film (Lupin the IIIrd Series, Shenmue the Animation, Tower of God).
A futuristic action/adventure anime, Ninja Kamui comes on the heels of the massive success of Park’s recent anime feature Jujutsu Kaisen 0, the seventh biggest anime film of all time and the 15th highest grossing film in Japan of all time.
Ninja Kamui follows Joe Higan who is a Nukenin – a former ninja who escaped his clan and is hiding from his violent past in rural America with his family. One night, he is ambushed by a team of assassins from his former organization who exact a bloody retribution on Joe and his family for betraying their ancient code. Rising from his seeming “death,” Joe will re-emerge as his former self – Ninja Kamui – to avenge his family and friends. Kamui is a 21st century ninja, a shadowy anachronism who pits his ancient skills against high-tech weaponry with brutal finesse. He must face off against trained assassins, combat cyborgs, and rival ninjas to bring down the very clan that made him.
“This is a story I’ve always wanted to tell,” said Park. “Transgression and punishment of a ninja who loses everything and goes out for revenge, and what lies at the end of his road. I am very excited about this new project and hope fans will be too.”
Ninja Kamui features character designs by Takeshi Okazaki (Afro Samurai,Star Wars Visions, Batman: Ninja), and is produced by E&H Production and Sola Entertainment (Lord of The Rings: War of The Rohirrim, Blade Runner: Black Lotus, Ultraman).
Attending fans will get sneak peeks and breaking news about some of Adult Swim’s biggest shows at must-see panels and series watch parties. Creators Matt Maiellaro and Dave Willis will take the stage with their Aqua Teen Hunger Force co-stars Carey Means (Frylock) and Dana Snyder (Master Shake) to spill all the details and reveal a first look of the second movie adaptation based on the fan-favorite series. Smiling Friends creators Michael Cusack and Zach Hadel will bring the joy to Philadelphia and exclusively debut footage from a forthcoming special. Plus, the wait is finally over for Rick and Morty fans as a peek at the highly anticipated sixth season of the series will also debut exclusively during the festival (season eight JUST started production).
Fans will also be the first to get access to never-before-seen videos and show updates at digital watch parties featuring Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal, Toonami, Royal Crackers, Tuca & Bertie, Teenage Euthanasia, YOLO: Crystal Fantasy, Birdgirl, Metalocalypse, and more.
Mindy Kaling took the stage to tease her upcoming HBO MAX adult animated series Velma. The series stars herself in the leading role with ten half-hour episodes on the way and as you can tell from this leaked image, the show is definitely leaning on it’s more adult tendencies.
For those that don’t know, VELMA is an adult animated comedy series telling the origin story of Velma Dinkley, the unsung and underappreciated brains of the Scooby-Doo Mystery Inc. gang. An original and humorous spin that unmasks the complex and colorful past of one of America’s most beloved mystery solvers, executive producer Mindy Kaling will voice the titular character. Charlie Grandy, Howard Klein and Sam Register also serve as executive producers. VELMA is produced by Warner Bros. Animation.
Clone High is another HBO MAX adult animated series on the way where it was announced production workers have filed to join the Animation Guild.
HBO Max and Cartoon Network announced today that Sacha Baron Cohen (Academy Award-nominated Borat and Who Is America?) has teamed up with Greg Daniels (King of the Hill) and Mike Judge (King of the Hill) of the newly formed Bandera Entertainment, as well as Michael Koman (SNL, Co-Creator of Nathan for You, and Executive Producer of HBO’s How To with John Wilson) to bring their fresh wit to new, younger audiences with the family-oriented animated special, Chelm: The Smartest Place on Earth.
Set in the mythical “Town of Fools” and originally told in Yiddish, Chelm: The Smartest Place on Earth shares the absurdist humor and interpretive questioning that is a nod to Jewish intellectual traditions. Narrated by Sacha Baron Cohen, the special will present a fresh take on the silly antics and exaggerated conflicts of the town, while also preserving the essence and heart of the classic folktales.
Sacha Baron Cohen, Greg Daniels, and Mike Judge are developing the story with Michael Koman, who is also attached to write. The four will executive produce the special, alongside Bandera’s President Dustin Davis.
Do we know if Hulu will be the only entity to have the dub, or if it will be on other platforms, too? The show in general is definitely going to be on multiple platforms.