The fan-favorite Rankin/Bass cartoon series ThunderCats made its television premiere in 1985 and ran for four seasons, totaling 130 episodes. Many years later, it was rebooted in 2011 for a single-season, 26-episode run on Cartoon Network before being discontinued because of poor merchandise sales.
A 2020 reimagining of the franchise, titled ThunderCats Roar - which was modeled after Teen Titans Go! also failed to catch on with viewers.
The franchise will be rebooted again, this time for a live-action theatrical release, with Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire director Adam Wingard at the helm. Wingard officially boarded the project back in 2021.
However, it should be noted that there's no guarantee that the ThunderCats movie will be the next film that Wingard directs. He's also signed on to helm a remake of the 1997 John Travolta and Nicolas Cage sci-fi action-thriller, Face/Off.
Regardless of whether it's his next project, in an new interview with ScreenRant, Wingard touched on whether his upcoming live-action ThunderCats movie will be closer to the original cartoon or the 2011 reboot.
Replying to the question, Wingard stated:
"My version is going to be 100% the ’80’s version. I’ve seen the rebooted anime one, but if I’m honest, the 80’s one that’s what Thundercats is to me, and that’s what I’d be creating."
"When I was in high school, I was so into Thundercats that I wrote this 270-something-page screenplay, like hand-written screenplay on it. It was my biggest dream growing up, to make a Thundercat’s movie, and so, here I am with the ability to actually do that. I’m still kind of fulfilling that dream."
"When that dream started, it was well before the anime version, so that’s why. That’s what I know, and that’s the vibe. I’m trying to do it, and if Thundercats ends up happening, which I hope it does, my version, I’d want to bring to life the exact designs from the ’80s version."
"I want the looks of them; I don’t want it to be like, okay, it’s the movie, so you got to make them look more realistic somehow. It’s like No, no, no, no. I want to bring the cartoon and toys to life. I want to see the exact costumes and everything."
Recently at the premiere for The New Empire, Wingard shared, "It's been full steam ahead recently with ThunderCats and Face/Off recently, in terms of the script."
"We won't know [if that's my next project] until they get to the next phase, but they're [moving] along really well and the scripts are really amazing. I'm so excited about what they could possibly be."
"And there's [also the question] of what's going to happen with this series and where things go from here. So, I'm kind of open and keeping my options open...we'll see."
If you've seen both the original and 2011 reboot of ThunderCats, which series do you think is better suited for a live-action adaptation? Let us know in the comment section below.
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