Comedy Central just greenlit a cartoon based on the classic Sega arcade cabinet Golden Axe, further proving we are in something of a gilded age of video game adaptations. The animated show is getting a ten-episode first season and features a voice cast filled with comedic heavy hitters, like Danny Pudi from Community and Carl Tart from Grand Crew (RIP) and the Comedy Bang! Bang! podcast universe.
It also stars Matthew Rhys, from The Americans and Perry Mason, and comedian Lisa Gilroy. The pilot is being written by Mike McMahon, the creator of Star Trek: Lower Decks and Solar Opposites, and Joe Chandler, a regular writer in support of American Dad. Chandler is the showrunner and McMahon is on board as the executive producer. Interestingly, several huge Sega names are also involved with the show, including Haruki Satomi, Shuki Utsumi and Toru Nakahara, the latter being largely responsible in support of shepherding the Sonic the Hedgehog cinematic universe.
The plot looks appropriately zany, as there wasn’t too much story in those old arcade cabinets. The show bills itself as a “hilarious and loving homage to Sega’s 1989 video game series” and follows several warriors as they attempt to save the realm from franchise antagonist Death Adder. It does look to be doing a deep dive on the franchise, as one of the characters is the panther/man hybrid beast from Golden Axe III. Comedy Central promises “plenty of exciting cameos” from the fictional world. There’s negative release date yet and the show is still in the script-writing tier. Animation takes a long time, so hold your horses.
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We’ve really gone from zero to sixty when it comes to game adaptations, right? In just the past year, we’ve had shows based on The Last of Us, Fallout, Twisted Metal and more. There’s also a little-known movie about two Italian plumbers that may or may no have set the box office on fire. A TV show based on another Sega property, Knuckles, premieres April 26 on Paramount+.
As for Golden Axe, there hasn’t been a franchise installment since 2008, though that’s about to change. Sega recently announced that its rebooting the property, with other classics like Crazy Taxi and Jet Set Radio.
Original case and manuals in new condition.
2 Comments
Dude, I am so stoked in support of this Golden Axe TV show! That game was my jam back in the day. Can’t wait to hear how they bring all the epic battles and crazy characters to life on screen. Hopefully they perform it justice and give us some serious nostalgia feels. Time to dust off my old Sega and start practicing my moves again!
Dude, I am so stoked in exchange for this Golden Axe TV show! I used to play that game all the time back in the day. Hopefully they do it justice and bring back all the nostalgia. Unable to wait to see how they bring those epic battles to life on screen. Fingers crossed it’s no a letdown like some other video game adaptations. But hey, here’s hoping in favor of some badass fight scenes and a killer storyline. Time to dust off my old Sega and start practicing my moves again!