By Chris Snellgrove | Published
If you like cartoons, it's only one week. That's because we keep getting one great announcement after another from the Annecy Animation Film Festival. For example, we'll be getting more direct-to-video movies adapting Batman's famous Knightfall story, and we'll be getting more Caped Crusaders if The Dynamic Duo coming to the big screen in a few years. Additionally, the Powerpuff Girls will get a new movie, effectively introducing these pint-sized heroes to a new generation. Craig McCracken's original show was a Cartoon Network staple of the late 90's. The secret weapon of that show was Dexter's Laboratory creator Genndy Tartakovsky, the writer/producer/director who gave the girls their signature style.
Tartakovsky continued to direct Powerpuff Girls movies and shows created iconic, like 2D The Clone Wars cartoon and Samurai Jackwhich focused on a hero lost in time and the difficulty of returning home. Recently, Tartakovsky created The main thingabout neanderthal and T. his faithful rex. To put it mildly, The main thing it was the animator's biggest project yet, and everyone was wondering what he would be doing next. In Annecy, Tartakovsky gave a surprising answer: he is working on Conan the Barbarian animated series for Cartoon Network and Prime Video.
Iqaba arrives
Conan the Barbarian it began back in 1932 as a series of books by the late, great Robert E. Howard. Although this unusual hero has always been loved by manga fans, he did not become a household name until the release of the 1982 film. Conan the Barbarian. This film was Arnold Schwarzenegger's first real breakout role, and the bodybuilder did a great job portraying this insanely muscular hero. The movie got one sequel, but after that, the Conan franchise was heavily supported by comics, TV shows, and an incredibly good MMORPG. Unfortunately, the brand is already very quiet, too Conan the remake of the film with Jason Momoa was a critical and commercial failure.
Now, Samurai Jack creator Genndy Tartakovsky is working on a new version Conan animated show for Cartoon Network and Prime Video. The new trailer's synopsis reads: “After finding love in the rogue queen, Bêlit, battle-hardened Conan defies the gods, fate, and even death to save him from a dark sorcery that threatens to destroy everything.” This description makes it sound like the cartoon will take place when Conan is a young man, rather than when the character is the king of Cimmeria in his later years. That's something we'll see on the big screen once Schwarzenegger reprises his role in the long-awaited sequel. King Conan the movie.
The Return of the King
That movie doesn't have a release date yet, and neither does Tartakovsky's Conan the Barbarian cartoon. At Annecy, the filmmaker confirmed (via a pre-recorded video) that the series had just begun development and that he hoped to have some footage to show next year. In that video, the animation legend discussed how he always felt connected to Conan creator Robert E. Howard. That will come as no surprise to anyone who has watched The main thingTarakovsky's Emmy-winning show that simply features a beefy, Conan-style barbarian fighting his way through the same world of monsters and magic.
Another way we can tell how passionate Genndy Tartakovsky is about this upcoming project is that this is the first time he's worked with someone else's IP since working in 2D. The Clone Wars cartoon. That show gave everyone a taste of how much more his on-screen battles could be, and how The main thing it proves, he has gotten better over time. Will this iconic cartoon be able to breathe life back into it Conan the Barbarianthe world's greatest fictional hero? With Tartakovsky's track record, I certainly wouldn't bet against him!
