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An animated series based on the side-scrolling beat ’em up classic Golden Axe by SEGA has been greenlit at Comedy Central.
The Golden Axe animated series will be 10-episode long and will feature a cast that includes Emmy award winner Matthew Rhys, Danny Pudi, Lisa Gilroy, Liam McIntyre, and Carl Tart.
The overview of the series is as follows:
In a hilarious and loving homage to Sega’s 1989 video game series, Golden Axe follows veteran warriors Ax Battler, Tyris Flare, and Gilius Thunderhead as they once again battle to save Yuria from the evil giant Death Adder who just won’t seem to stay dead. Fortunately, this time they have the inexperienced and underprepared Hampton Squib on their side.
Matthew Rhys, best known for his role in The Americans and Perry Mason, will be playing Gilius Thunderhead, “a grumpy battle dwarf with exceptionally poor hygiene and a chip on his shoulder”.
Meanwhile, Danny Pudi, a recognizable face if you are a fan of Community, will play Hampton Squib, “a naive, inexperienced first-time adventurer who has dreamt of questing his entire life. He hopes his can-do attitude can make up for his inability to actually do stuff.”
Lisa Gilroy is set to play Tyris Flare, “a fearsome battle sorceress, deadly in a fight and even deadlier with her sharp wit.”
Liam McIntyre, who you may know as Spartacus, will be embracing his barbaric role again as Ax Battler, “a barbarian warrior with a strict code of honor and sweet golden retriever demeanor. His brawn outweighs his brains, but his heart outweighs his brawn.”
Star Trek: Lower Decks star Carl Tart has been cast as Chronos “Evil” Lait, a character originally from Golden Axe III and is a “100 percent badass humanoid panther. At least that’s how Chronos describes himself. In reality, he’s uncomfortably cheesy and can’t read a room.”
Aside from the announced cast, Comedy Central also noted that there will be plenty of cameos from the world of Golden Axe.
The series will be produced by CBS Studios’ Eye Animation Productions, CBS Studios’ animation arm, in association with Sony Pictures Television; and Original Film.
Writers Mike McMahan (Star Trek: Lower Decks) and Joe Chandler (American Dad!) will co-write the first episode and executive produce the series, with Chandler serving as showrunner.
Aside from Chandler, the executive producers include Haruki Satomi, president and CEO of SEGA Sammy Holdings, Shuji Utsumi, president and COO of SEGA Corporation, Toru Nakahara, and Senior Executive Officer at SEGA, as well as Neal H. Moritz, Pavun Shetty and Toby Ascher of Original Film.
As for animation, it will be handled by Big Mout animation studio Titmouse with Chris Prynoski, Shannon Prynoski, Antonio Canobbio, and Ben Kalina serving as executive producers.
For the uninitiated, Golden Axe is a side-scrolling beat ’em up series first released back in 1989 by SEGA for the arcade. It is as you expect from the cast and characters, set in a highly fantastical medieval world where various heroes seek out the legendary Golden Axe.
From the characters revealed, the series will include the three heroes from the first game, the axe-wielding dwarf Gillius, the barbarian Ax, and the amazon Tyris.
