| ThunderCats | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created by | Tobin Wolf |
| Original work | ThunderCats (1985–89) |
| Owner | Warner Bros. (1989–present) |
| Print publications | |
| Comics | ThunderCats |
| Films and television | |
| Animated series |
|
| Games | |
| Video game(s) |
|
ThunderCats is amedia franchise, featuring a fictional group ofcat-likehumanoidaliens. The characters were created byTobin Wolf and featured in an animatedtelevision series namedThunderCats, running from 1985 to 1989, which was animated by Japanese studioPacific Animation Corporation, and co-produced byRankin/Bass Productions.[1]
Like its predecessorMasters of the Universe, theThunderCats franchise simultaneously launched as a line ofaction figures produced byLJN and as asyndicated after-school weekday cartoon.[2]
The originalThunderCats show was animated in Japan while being produced, written and voice acted in the United States.[3]
The series was distributed byRankin/Bass Productions' then-parent companyTelepictures, which would later merge withLorimar Television in February 1986.[4] In January 1989,Lorimar-Telepictures was purchased by and folded intoWarner Bros., whosetelevision syndication arm would eventually assume distribution of the show; Warner Bros. has owned the rights to the series (and all Lorimar-Telepictures programming) from that point on.
There were also several comic book series produced. AThunderCatscomic book series based on the animated series was published byMarvel Comics through itsStar Comics imprint in 1985, lasting for three years and twenty-four issues.[5] During this time in aeponymous television series was published byMarvel UK consisting of 129 issues and was also published for three years.[6]
Beginning in 2002,ThunderCats titles were published byWildstorm Productions, an imprint ofDC Comics (Warner Bros.corporate sibling), and included five non-canonminiseries and severalone shots.[7]
In March 2012,Panini Comics began publishing a new series in the United Kingdom to tie-in with the television series of 2011, titledThunderCats Magazine. The first issue featured a strip calledSafe Haven which was written by Ferg Handley and drawn by Cosmo White. Each issue also included additional features, such as character profiles, puzzles, a reader art page and a poster.
In February 2024Dynamite Entertainment announced plans to publish a newThunderCats series written by Declan Shalvey and drawn by Drew Moss.[8] In April 2024, Dynamite announced a spinoff series focusing on Cheetara.[9]
Two video games based on the franchise have been released. The first wasThunderCats: The Lost Eye of Thundera, published in 1987. The second,ThunderCats, was released in 2012 for theNintendo DS.
The ThunderCats have been added to the CMONZombicide franchise in 2022 in the fantasy universe. Three special boxes allow to play the Thundercats as well as some Mutants as heroes, while Mumm-ra appears as a necromancer and an Abomination.
Items of clothing featuring theThunderCats logo were available in the mid 1980s, and DVD boxsets releases of the original series helped new clothing products enjoy a resurgence in the mid to end of the 2000s, as nostalgia for the former children's favorite grew.[citation needed]
A film adaptation of the series was announced in June 2007; Aurelio Jaro was to produce a CGI animated feature film ofThunderCats, based on a script written by Paul Sopocy. Jerry O'Flaherty, veteran video game art director, had signed on to direct. The film was being produced by Spring Creek Productions.[10]
It was set for release in the summer of 2010,[11] but the movie was never greenlit,[12] and, as of 2024, has yet to be produced. Concept art for the film has also been leaked online.[12] In 2011, test footage in CGI was leaked ontoYouTube.[13] In 2017, during the promotion ofResident Evil: The Final Chapter,Milla Jovovich expressed interest in portraying Cheetara.[14]
In March 2021, it was announced thatWarner Bros. was once more actively developing a live-actionThunderCats film withAdam Wingard set to direct the film, with a screenplay by Wingard andSimon Barrett, andRoy Lee andDan Lin serving as producers.[15]
| Series | Season | Episodes | Originally released | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | Network | ||||
| ThunderCats | 1 | 65 | September 9, 1985 (1985-09-09) | December 20, 1985 (1985-12-20) | Syndication | |
| 2 | 25 | September 8, 1986 (1986-09-08) | October 10, 1986 (1986-10-10) | |||
| 3 | 20 | September 7, 1987 (1987-09-07) | October 2, 1987 (1987-10-02) | |||
| 4 | 20 | September 5, 1988 (1988-09-05) | September 29, 1988 (1988-09-29) | |||
| ThunderCats | 1 | 26 | July 29, 2011 (2011-07-29) | June 16, 2012 (2012-06-16) | Cartoon Network | |
| ThunderCats Roar | 1 | 52 | February 22, 2020 (2020-02-22) | December 5, 2020 (2020-12-05) | Cartoon Network | |
A second television series of the same name premiered in 2011. It was initially planned to have a fifty-two episode-long first season, but it was shortened down to 26, and cancelled shortly after season one finished airing. It later had reruns onAdult Swim'sToonami block, alongsideSym-Bionic Titan.
A thirdThunderCats cartoon,ThunderCats Roar, premiered onCartoon Network in 2020. The show's developers are Victor Courtright and Marly Halpern-Graser. Courtright previously worked onPickle and Peanut which was also adapted into a television series from writer storyboard artist and created theCartoon Network Studios digital seriesGet 'Em Tommy!. Halpern-Graser previously worked as a writer for variousDC Nation Shorts, and was co-creator of the show onDisney XD,Right Now Kapow.
ThunderCats Roar features an explicitly cartoonish art style with a more lighthearted, comedic tone than previousThunderCats installments. The show's premise is similar to the original; the ThunderCats escape their dying homeworld Thundera, only to crash land on Third Earth, facing off against various villains and their evil overlord,Mumm-Ra.[16]
However, after airing for only one season, the show was cancelled.
