From Oscar-winning movies like Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio to massive global hits like Arcane: League of Legends, Netflix Animation has been kicking all kinds of ass over the past few years. And, it seems, that’s going to continue into the future.
This week in Los Angeles, CA, Netflix held an event offering a look at everything it has coming in the next few years, with plenty of release dates, new images, and casting announcements along the way. io9 was there and here are the 15 projects that got us most excited, with all the news that’s fit to print for each.
Terminator Zero
We love the Terminator franchise so while we were already very excited about the new show Terminator Zero, we’re over the moon that we now know it’ll be released on Judgment Day, August 29, and that none other than Cobb Vanth himself, Timothy Olyphant, is voicing the main Terminator.
Jentry Chau vs. The Underworld
Executive produced and voiced by Ali Wong, Jentry Chau vs. The Underworld is about “a Chinese-American teen living in a small Texas town who must fight an entire underworld’s worth of monsters while balancing the horrors of high school.” It looks very Scott Pilgrim-y and awesome. That’s a first look above. It’s out later this year.
Ghostbusters
Two years ago, news broke that Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Frozen Empire creators Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan were working on an animated show for Netflix. And while that show is still in the works, and no official images were released, at the event we saw concept art of what looked like a teen Ghostbusters team. John Derderian, the head of animation at Netflix, called it “an exciting new take on Ghostbusters that will really surprise audiences.”
Stranger Things
Again, no official images were released but Derderian announced that “we’re in production on a new animated series that retains the scares and mystery of the iconic original series [Stranger Things]. We think it will delight existing fans and invite new generations of viewers.” In-room-only concept art showed a lot of weird monsters.
The Twits
Directed by Phil Johnston, who wrote both Zootopia and Wreck-It Ralph, The Twits is a new Roald Dahl adaptation that will feature the voices of not just Margo Martindale and Johnny Vegas, but Natalie Portman and Emilia Clarke as well. Star Wars reunion! That’s a new image above.
Jurassic World: Chaos Theory
Hot off its new season, Netflix announced that season two of the Jurassic show is officially in the works and released the new image above.
Twilight of the Gods
Zack and Deborah Snyder showed up to reveal the first look at their new animated show, Twilight of the Gods, which will be out this fall.
“Twilight of the Gods was a show that we’ve been working on for quite some time—years in the making actually,” Snyder said. “I’ve always been obsessed with Norse mythology. I think it’s an amazing place. I love mythology in general, and so the idea of actually being able to dig into this rich tapestry of heroes and gods was an incredible opportunity for both of us. And this show is really a story. It’s a story about love and revenge, and it just takes us across this massive and beautiful landscape in pursuit of, well, you’ll have to see.”
That Christmas
“Another animated Christmas movie?” That was my reaction when Netflix first mentioned That Christmas, but that was before I realized it was co-written by Richard Curtis, who wrote Notting Hill, Four Weddings and a Funeral, and Love Actually. It’s his first animated film and that’s a new image above. It’ll be out in December.
Spellbound
Spellbound is the latest film from Skydance Animation, led by former head of Pixar John Lasseter, and it features an incredible voice cast including Rachel Zegler, John Lithgow, Jenifer Lewis, Tituss Burgess, Nathan Lane, Javier Bardem, and Nicole Kidman. It’ll be out on November 22 and star Nathan Lane was on hand to tell us what it’s about.
“Spellbound is about Ellian, the tenacious young daughter of the rulers of Lumbria. And she has a secret… a mysterious spell has turned her parents into monsters,” Lane said. “Ellian loves her parents. That’s why she summons the mysterious Oracles of the Sun and Moon. I play the Oracle of the Moon and Tituss Burgess plays the Oracle of the Sun—and we come to help her break the spell.”
In Your Dreams
Featuring the voices of Simu Liu and Craig Robinson, In Your Dreams is about a brother and sister who must travel to dreamland to find the Sandman to make all their dreams come true. Liu is their dad and Robinson voices a one-eyed giraffe named Baloney Tony, who you see above. It’s out next year.
Minecraft
While Jason Momoa will deal with Minecraft in live-action, Netflix is tackling it in animation. It’s a CG-animated series that “will feature an original story with new characters, showing the world of Minecraft in a new light.”
Exploding Kittens
The popular card game is coming to Netflix as an animated series and we now know that it’ll be out on July 12. That’s a new image above.
Motel Transylvania
One of the biggest animated film series in recent years is coming to the small screen with Motel, not Hotel, Transylvania. It’ll be out in 2025 and that’s your first look above.
Plankton: The Movie
While Sandy Cheeks gets its movie this year, next year another popular character from SpongeBob SquarePants gets their own movie too: Plankton. That’s the first look above.
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
Honestly, this title would’ve been number one and, because of that, we did a whole separate article on it. But we had to mention it here too, because it’s so damn exciting. It’ll be out later this year.
But that’s not all…
Though there wasn’t any big news about them, Netflix has a ton of other massive shows coming in the next few months and years. Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft is one. And another is season two of Arcane, which will be out in November. Expect a new trailer soon. And visit Tudum for info on EVERYTHING coming from Netflix Animation.