ThunderCatsfinally has the chance to recover from its devastating 2020 failure with the live-action movie currently in pre-production. The belovedThunderCatsfranchise began as a 1985 animated television show, and stole the hearts of families across the nation, eventually releasing comics, action figures, and various reboots. The science fantasy, set on “Third Earth,” followed catlike humanoid aliens in their fight against evil. While many of theThunderCatsfranchise pursuits went well, a particular 2020 reboot was released to overwhelmingly negative reviews.
ThunderCats Roarfailed to live up to fan expectations, and although reboots rarely live up to the original,ThunderCats Roardid so badly that it threatened the integrity of the franchise as a whole. Now, with Adam Wingard, director ofGodzilla vs. Kongand longtime fan ofThunderCats, spearheading pre-production of the live-action movie, it seems there’s still hope for theThunderCatsfranchise.
ThunderCats Roar Was A Failed Attempt At Reinviting ThunderCats
ThunderCats Roardebuted in 2020 with drastic differences in the style of both story and aesthetics. The reboot attempted to follow the lighter-hearted, dramatically stylized, footsteps ofTeen Titans Go!, with a strong emphasis on humor and self-aware parody of the original. However,the overly simplified animation style subjected the show to intense backlash, as the exaggerated characters and superficially bright colors took away from the high stakes that the originalThunderCatsbattles delivered.
8 Things The ThunderCats Movie Must Include To Do The Classic 1980s Cartoon Justice
ThunderCats is being made into a live-action movie, but to truly capture the magic of the 1980s cartoon, it needs to respect the source material.
One of the larger issues prevalent inThunderCats Roar, was the fact that many fans believed the show’s jokes and parodies were insulting the source material. This comedic tone seemed to beThunderCats Roar’s Achilles heel. Aside from seemingly mocking theThunderCatslegacy, the reboot’s shift toward comedy failed the themes of heroism and adventure that the franchise initially promised. Clearly,the show taking itself seriously is integral to theThunderCatsstory, as the show failed to generate a new audience, failed to keep its old one, and was inevitably canceled after one season.
ThunderCats Live-Action Movie Can Bring The Franchise Back To Mainstream The Right Away
Fortunately, it doesn’t seem like theThunderCatslive-action moviewill fall prey to the same fate. Writer and director Adam Wingard has gone on record promising to stay “100%” true to the 80s original (viaScreen Rant) as he creates the remake, which isn’t surprising at all. Wingard is such a huge fan of the franchise that in high school he wrote a 270-page screenplay for the movie - by hand. While the final film likely won’t be Wingard’s notebook spec script, the franchise is surely resting in good hands.
…ThunderCatshasn’t been onscreen since 2020, leaving fans with only a comic book series to keep them satiated.
Whether a result ofThunderCats Roaror not,ThunderCatshasn’t been onscreen since 2020, leaving fans with only a comic book series to keep them satiated. There isn’t yet official news regarding the release or even production dates for the live-action movie, but if done well, thisThunderCatslive-action film has the potential to restore this franchise and bring it back to its rightful place at the front of pop culture.
