Animation

Animaniacs Is Back: New Trailer And Episode Descriptions

Animaniacs Is Back: New Trailer And Episode Descriptions

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By the end of November, we’ll finally know if the Animaniacs reboot was worth it or not. The long-in development partnership between Hulu and WB, probably the only one of its kind now that every studio has their own streaming service, will at last produce its fruit a month from now.

And to prove it, here’s a fresh new trailer full of real, honest-to-goodness new clips of the Warner siblings. Pinky and the Brain are also back, but it doesn’t look like anybody else made the cut (there’s a new pee-sychiatrist here, instead of Scratchy).

There’s more…Hulu’s press site now contains brief descriptions of each episode. Look away if you care about spoilers, but it appears each of the 13 episodes in Season One will contain one Warners short, one Pinky and the Brain short, and one variety short using original characters yet to be revealed.

S1 Episode 101 ‘Episode 1’
The Warner Brothers (& Warner sister!) return. Brain’s meme fails to achieve world domination.

S1 Episode 102 ‘Episode 2’
The Warners vacation in Ancient Greece. Pinky & the Brain try using a dragon to rule the world.

S1 Episode 103 ‘Episode 3’
The Warners compete in games of skill. Brain gets busted time-travelling. Dot gives a dramatic math lesson.

S1 Episode 104 ‘Episode 4’
The Warners fight a rabbit infestation. Brain’s robot “son” turns on him. A new app is born.

S1 Episode 105 ‘Episode 5’
The Warners are stalked by a hunter. Pinky & the Brain break into the NSA. Ralph falls asleep.

S1 Episode 106 ‘Episode 6’
Dot discovers a recipe for cuteness. Aliens don’t share Brain’s goals. Odd political ads.

S1 Episode 107 ‘Episode 7’
The Warners investigate a dognapping & accidentally start the French Revolution. Yakko channels Shakespeare to save hip-hop.

S1 Episode 108 ‘Episode 8’
The Warners hunt a donut thief. Brain creates a perfect FLOTUS. Starbox fails to escape Cindy’s adoring grasp.

S1 Episode 109 ‘Episode 9’
The Warners butt heads with a conductor and a talk show host. Brain is humbled by his future self. Marsha has a gnome in her mouth.

S1 Episode 110 ‘Episode 10’
The Warners discover an unauthorized version of their show in Russia. Brain battles a toddler for a meteorite. Also, a press conference.

S1 Episode 111 ‘Episode 11’
Halloween in Burbank: The Warners haunt a television and encounter a scary clown. Brain frightens a whole village into submission. Spooky monsters get claustrophobic.

S1 Episode 112 ‘Episode 12’
The inner life of a pimple. Pinky & the Brain entertain a Sultana. A man lacks a sense of personal space.

S1 Episode 113 ‘Episode 13’
The Warners go on a quest for Dr. Scratchansniff. Brain builds a driverless car. Dot sings about all the First Ladies.

So we might see Scratchansniff after all? Depends on if they find him. The new Animaniacs premieres November 20 on Hulu. A second season will arrive in 2021.

 

Darkwing Duck Returns To DuckTales Next Week

Darkwing Duck Returns To DuckTales Next Week

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He is the terror that flaps in the night. He is the sneeze on your enchilada! He is the soft brown doggie deposit that befouls the golf course of crime! He is DARKWING DUCK! And he’s coming back to TV….sort of.

As viewers of Disney Channel and Disney XD’s 2017 DuckTales series know, the show has pulled in all sorts of characters from The Disney Afternoon’s first few years of existence, but with Darkwing Duck…it gets complicated.

Darkwing was introduced to this version of Duckburg as a fictitious character with his own popular TV show the nephews happened to be obsessed with. He was played by actor Jim Starling (who in reality was original Darkwing VA Jim Cummings), a man who got a little too obsessed with his role. When he found his job threatened by another actor (this one named Drake Mallard), he became so agitated that he flipped from Darkwing into…Negaduck!

Launchpad, the biggest Darkwing fan in the world, insisted Drake had what it took to become a superhero in real life, and that he should take on the Darkwing persona. That convoluted path leads us to next weekend’s one-hour episode, where not only do we finally get an actual Darkwing Duck with an actual Drake Mallard under the mask, but the emergence of Gosalyn (played by Stephanie Beatriz) and Darkwing’s original archnemesis Taurus Bulba.

But the bull isn’t alone….escaped from another dimension are Darkwing’s old foes from the “fictional” show made real: Megavolt, Bushroot, The Liquidator and Quackerjack! Keep in mind Mallard’s new at this. He’s gonna have his hands full!

Don’t miss the one-hour DuckTales episode “Let’s Get Dangerous” on Disney XD next week. Here’s a few scenes…

yashahime

Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon Set For October 3 Debut

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Last May, Viz Media announced a sequel series to Inuyasha was in production, titled Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon. The show will be leaping out of feudal Japan for a slightly more modern fairy tale, focusing on the adventures of the offspring of Inuyasha, Sesshomaru and Kagome.

Back in ancient times, half-demon twins Towa and Setsuna become separated during a forest fire. Setsuna can’t seem to find Towa afterward, and there’s a good reason for that: Towa discovered another tunnel to modern-day Japan, where she meets Moroha, daughter of Inuyasha and Kagome. The tunnel closes before Towa can find her way back.

Ten years later, it opens back up again, and Moroha and Towa leap back in time — to find Setsuna now has no memory of her twin sister. What happened there? We’re going to know seriously soon — the release date for the first episode has been revealed, and it’s in less than a week.

“We can’t wait for both Inuyasha and anime fans of  all ages to discover the spirit of adventure and friendship in ‘Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon,’ says Brad Woods of VIZ. “By partnering with multiple platforms, the iconic and much-loved property will have tremendous reach and availability for fans to enjoy this next chapter with half-demon twins Towa and Setsuna.”

Subbed episodes of Yashahime will be released simultaneously in Japan and the US starting October 3, and you’ll have multiple outlets to choose from: Crunchyroll, Funimation, and Hulu. An English dub will follow, though an exact date has not been announced.

 

Lupin The 3rd CGI Movie Finally Reaches Us Next Month

Lupin The 3rd CGI Movie Finally Reaches Us Next Month

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Lupin The 3rd: The First, a computer-animated feature film starring the gentleman thief who has endured for over 50 years, was released in Japan in 2019. It received high praise as one of the most entertaining Lupin things ever made (though as far as Lupin movies go, nothing’s ever gonna top Miyazaki’s take). Ever since, folks have been wondering…when are we gonna get it?

Distributor GKIDS likely had their hearts set on a big screen debut, something that’s been difficult to pull off this year. Yet pull they have. Somehow, Lupin The 3rd: The First will get a theatrical release in the US in 2020. You decide if you’re willing to mask up and brave the experience.

Lupin The 3rd: The First will be released on two nights, as a Fathom Event. The dubbed version of the film will screen first, on Sunday, October 18, and the subbed version will appear Wednesday, October 21. Check out GKIDS’ website for the locations nearest you.

If you really don’t want to go to the movies right now (understandable), how long will you have to wait to see Lupin? Not much longer….GKIDS says a digital version of the film will be ready for purchase in December. No word yet on a DVD release.

As 2-D to 3-D conversions go, Lupin The 3rd: The First handled the dimensional leap very well. The characters translate to 3D models perfectly and look exactly like their manga counterparts. We can’t wait for this movie and we’ve been patient long enough…here is the latest trailer in both subbed and dubbed forms courtesy of GKIDS.

don bluth studios

Don Bluth Announces New Animation Production Company

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In the late 1970s, Don Bluth was considered the top new talent at Walt Disney Studios — but he found it incredibly frustrating working on safe Miller-era fare like The Fox And The Hound. He wanted animated films to go dark, to take risks, and he felt the only way to do that was to strike out on his own.

So, that’s what he did. He founded his own independent studio, took half of Disney’s animation department with him and they started work on The Secret Of NIMH. It was only the first wild step in a career fulled with highs, lows and surprising twists, from unexpected success with video games (Dragon’s Lair) to working with Spielberg (An American Tail) to getting stuck making incomprehensible kiddie fare (A Troll In Central Park, Rock-A-Doodle).

It has unfortunately been a long time since we’ve seen a new feature from Bluth…part of the problem lies with the industry shift to 3D animation for features. But Don’s not dead yet, and he’s about to give it one more try….Don Bluth Studios has officially been reborn, with the goal of reigniting 2D animated movies.

The announcement was made on Facebook by Lavalle Lee, the man chosen as vice-president of Bluth’s new studio. “This new company is going to be establishing NEW characters, NEW ideas and NEW projects!” Lee said enthusiastically. “If you were to tell me 10 years ago, that I would be Don’s second in command, I would [have] said, “Yeah right!” This is incredibly exciting and I can’t wait to start showing all of you what we have cooking!”

According to Lee, the development process at Don Bluth Studios will not be a secret one. “We will be POSTING up a storm and showing you all our progress. Be ready!” We are.

to your last death

To Your Last Death Announced For Blu-Ray

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To Your Last Death is one of the more unique animated films to come out in the last ten years. It’s an action-horror story with time loop elements, something you don’t see very often in Western cartoons. Utilizing a 2-D puppetry style for arms and limbs, To Your Last Death gives off the appearance of an Archer episode from hell.

Miriam is the sole survivor of a sadistic and deadly game by her father where he basically forced his children to fight each other to the death. The experience was so traumatic it left her in a psych ward, but one day a mysterious entity called the Gamemaster materializes in her room. Gamemaster says she’ll teleport Miriam back to the worst day of her life, with the knowledge and experience she’s gained from having lived it. This in theory will help Miriam save her family, but what if Gamemaster has other, more sinister motives behind helping her?

To Your Last Death has a great voice cast, including Morena Baccarin as Gamemaster. “What drew me to this project was how dark it was,” says Baccarin. “This idea that we can be finger puppets, that somebody could be up there, wreaking chaos in our lives… Obviously, it’s a fantasy world, and it’s always fun to do something that’s completely unrealistic and at the same time plays with themes from reality.

“I enjoyed this character because one could say she’s evil — she’s doing these terrible things — but she’s really just doing her job. It’s not about emotion, and it’s not about being mean or terrible to people. It’s about entertainment, and in a weird way, I thought it would be really fun to attempt vocally to do that.”

Othere voice actors include Ray Wise (“Twin Peaks”, Batman: The Killing Joke, Robocop), Dani Lennon (The Love Witch, Bite Me), Bill Moseley (House of 1000 Corpses, Repo! The Genetic Opera, The Devil’s Rejects), and William Shatner (the “Star Trek” franchise, “The Practice”). To Your Last Death is currently available on digital platforms, and will be released on Blu-Ray this October.

After emerging as the sole survivor in a deadly revenge game set up by her father to punish his children, Miriam receives an offer from a supernatural entity to go back in time and try again. Now, Miriam must survive both her father’s blood lust and the Gamemaster’s ever-changing rules to save her siblings as she relives the worst night of her life.

you say run

You Say Run: My Hero Academia Charity Single Available Now

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The heroes in training at UA are dedicated to using their quirks for the betterment of mankind, and their efforts even stretch into the real world. You Say Run, a new My Hero Academia charity single from composer Mason Lieberman, is available now and all proceeds benefit UNICEF.

You Say Run features the contributions of a loaded cast — over 80 guest artists including MHA series composer Yuki Hayashi, the English voice cast, and much more. Check out this massive list:

Music Direction/Arrangement – Mason Lieberman (Senior Game Audio Coordinator at Tencent. Composer/recording artist on projects like RWBY, Rising of the Shield Hero, League of Legends, Super Smash Bros.)

Mix / Additional Guitar – Masahiro Aoki (Legendary former composer at Capcom with credits on Mega Man, Street Fighter V, Astral Chain)

Mastering Engineer – Jett Galindo (Mastering engineer of the La La Land OST, Barbra Streisand, Green Day, and more)

Choral Arrangements – Austin Wintory (Grammy-nominated composer of Journey, Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate, John Wick Hex, and more)

Vocal Production / Glitch Guitar – thebishopgame (Producer, engineer, and guitarist; FOH for the Video Game Orchestra and Tina Guo)

String MIDI Preparations – Nabeel Ansari (Impact Soundworks)

Additional String Orchestration- Lance Treviño (Composer on Beyblade Burst, Chef’s Table, Hanazuki)

Additional Brass Orchestration – Dallas Crane (Composer, assistant to Austin Wintory)

Featured vocalists from the cast of My Hero Academia:

Christopher Sabat (All Might)
Clifford Chapin IV (Katsuki Bakugou)
Luci Christian (Ochako Uraraka)
Monica Rial (Tsuyu Asui)
J. Michael Tatum (Tenya Iida)
Brina Palencia (Minoru Mineta)
Caitlin Glass (Mina Ashido)
Kellen Goff (Overhaul)
Anairis Quiñones (Mirko)
Brandon McInnis (Sir Nighteye)
Greg Ayres (Koji Koda)
Morgan Berry (13)
Alexis Tipton (Mei Hatsume)
Dawn M. Bennett (Setsuna Tokage)
Felecia Angelle (Toru Hagakure)
Ricco Fajardo (Mirio Togata)
Megan Shipman (La Brava)
Jerry Jewell (Kesagiriman, Nedzu)
Mike McFarland (Masahirao Ojiro)
Bryn Apprill (Ibara Shiozaki)
Daman Mills (Chainsaw Nomu)
Kristen McGuire (Tatami Nakagame)

Additional vocalists include:

Caleb Hyles (Singer on RWBY and YouTuber)
Casey Lee Williams (Lead singer on RWBY)
Shihori (Singer/songwriter on Fairy Tail, Macross Frontier, and more)
Úyanga Bold (Singer for League of Legends, Overwatch, voice of EWQL)
Adriana Figueroa (YouTuber Adrisaurus/singer on Cadence of Hyrule and SMITE)
Emmanuel Lagumbay (Audio coordinator at Riot Games)
Clay Agnew (Vocalist and producer in Foxchase)
Isaac Schutz (Composer and violist)
Felicia Rojas (Grammy-nominated violinist with Mariachi Divas, Area of Effect)
Alejandro Espinosa (YouTuber wolfman1405 and SilvaGunner collaborator)
John Robert Matz (BAFTA-nominated composer on For the King, Fossil Echo)
Elspeth Bawden (Anime/game vocalist for Made in Abyss: Dawn of the Deep Soul)
Lisa Laimer (Vocalist and YouTuber Eleviisa)
Tee Lopes (Composer of Sonic Mania)

“It is our pleasure to produce this limited-run charity release in support of UNICEF,” comments composer and album organizer Mason Lieberman. “Their unwavering dedication to helping children in indeed is the truest definition of what it means to go beyond!”

You can get You Say Run on digital or vinyl today. The digital version is available through Bandcamp, Qrates or Spotify, while the vinyl can be picked up through Qrates.

weathering with you

Weathering With You Comes To Digital, Blu-Ray And DVD

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Weathering With You, the follow-up to director Makoto Shinkai and producer Genki Kawamura;’s mega-hit Your Name, will be hitting disc formats early next month…and digital formats this very second.

Weathering With You had its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, and its US premiere at the Animation is Film Festival in Los Angeles. The latter screening completely sold out. The US dub of the movie features the voices of Lee Pace as Suga, Alison Brie as Natsumi, Riz Ahmed as Takai and many others.

The summer of his high school freshman year, Hodaka runs away from his remote island home to Tokyo, and quickly finds himself pushed to his financial and personal limits. The weather is unusually gloomy and rainy every day, as if to suggest his future. He lives his days in isolation, but finally finds work as a writer for a mysterious occult magazine. Then one day, Hodaka meets Hina on a busy street corner. This bright and strong-willed girl possesses a strange and wonderful ability: the power to stop the rain and clear the sky…

The Blu-Ray and DVD version will be released September 15, and contain these bonus features:

  • Talk Show: Makoto Shinkai and Yumiko Udo
  • “Weather Front” Featurette
  • Exploring Makoto Shinkai’s Filmography
  • Theatrical Trailers And TV Spots

If you can wait a little longer, GKids is pulling out all the stops to produce a bonus-packed Collector’s 4K Edition that comes with a 104-page book, the soundtrack on CD, a 13″ by 21″ poster, sticker and a bonus disc with a full-length documentary. That version is coming November 17.

But if you can’t wait at all, the digital version of Weathering With You is out today. Note that it does not come with bonuses.

jurassic world

Jurassic World Gets Animated In New Netflix Series

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Take it from someone who was there: Jurassic Park was by far the biggest movie of 1993. The toys and merch were everywhere. Every kid in the world wanted to go see it, and THAT was a bit controversial back then. The film was regarded as too frightening for children; unlike previous movies where man and dinosaur met, this one did not hold back on what a disadvantage man would actually have.

The thing about horror is that you cannot scare people the same exact way twice. Defenseless humans at the mercy of large, toothy reptiles was nightmarish when no one had seen it so vividly before. Numerous sequels later, we’ve been desensitized to the point where we can outright make a show targeted DIRECTLY at kids, about dinosaurs trying to eat kids, and get away with it.

That show is Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, a CG animated series premiering on Netflix in September. The setup is what we’ve come to expect: a group of rambunctious teenagers have signed up for a summer camp program at Jurassic World, only for the park to shut down and things to go wrong. For the record, the series is set during the events of the first Jurassic World movie, so it’s not like they built this park back up to make the mistake a THIRD time. (It’s actually the second.)

Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous stars Jameela Jamil (The Good Place), Sean Giambrone (The Goldbergs), Glen Powell (Scream Queens), Paul-Mikél Williams (Westworld), Jenna Ortega (Jane the Virgin), Ryan Potter (Titans), Raini Rodriguez (Austin & Ally) and Kausar Mohammed (Cannon Busters). It premieres September 18 on Netflix.

12ozmouse

12 Oz Mouse Returns July 20 On Adult Swim

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You thought you were safe from the mind-numbing adventures of a crudely-drawn drunken mouse in a world of insanity, but it wasn’t through with YOU! In this brave new television world, nothing is ever truly cancelled. 12 Oz Mouse breaks back into your house with ten new episodes that’ll air over the next two weeks.

In this belated third season of the series, all the original voice actors return along with special guest stars singer/songwriter Mary Spender, Elise Ryd and Olof Morck from the Swedish metal band Amaranthe. Matt Maiellaro (Aqua Teen Hunger Force) has returned as head writer as well.

A new episode of 12 Oz Mouse will run every weekday for two whole weeks. Here’s what to expect:

Monday, July 20 – “First 12”
Picking up from the INVICTUS episode, Mouse finds himself without memory and in a new world called Lotharganin where he meets Aria and Professor Wilx; two top scientists from the Outer Earth who worked with Shyd Industries.
Tuesday, July 21 – “Awaken”
While Shark is being reconstructed into an abomination of Square and himself, Golden Joe and Peanut try to figure a way out of their jail cell. Aria tries to jog Mouse’s memory while Wilx is convinced that Mouse could be the Core to the whole experiment.
Wednesday, July 22 – “Adrift”
A Schooner breaks through the defenses of Lotharganin and all clues point to Professor Wilx and his underlying connection to Shyd Industries.
Thursday, July 23 – “You Made This”
Eyeball reunites with Mouse on Lotharganin. Manwoman, in the Outer Earth, is interrogated by Peanut Cop because she has the Box of Worlds in her possession created by Shyd Industries.
Friday, July 24 – “Because They Could”
Rooster escapes Spider from the World of Muck and finds himself in a desert with a well-armed Kid camping out. Peanut Cop and Golden Joe break out of prison on jet skis and Aria is starting to realize that Professor Wilx is working for Shyd Industries.
Monday, July 27 – “Reveal”
Sirus, the Architect for the Box of Worlds, breaks ranks with Clock. Aria and Eyeball use a serum to kickstart Mouse’s memory and he remembers working with them and helping to create the Box of Worlds. Wilx traps them in a laser cage and escapes.
Tuesday, July 28 – “Prime Time Nursery Rhyme”
Mouse realizes the Box of Worlds has been stolen and is now unstable just as Peanut Cop and Golden Joe come to their rescue. Rooster meets with Sirus and formulates a plan to take down Shyd Industries. Wilx has found his way into Outer Earth.
Wednesday, July 29 – “Here We Come”
Industry Man interrogates Rooster on the location of the missing Box of Worlds. Peanut Cop dies while freeing Mouse, Aria and Eyeball from the laser cage. Meanwhile, the Castellica gets its orders from Melissa to save Mouse.
Thursday, July 30 – “Portal to the Doorway”
As the Castellica saves Mouse and team, Rooster escapes the clutches of Industry Man.
Friday, July 31 – “Final Beginning”
In this season finale, Industry Man and his Clock persona are destroyed but who really holds the key to the powerful Box of Worlds?

The insanity returns Sunday, July 20 at midnight on Adult Swim (the channel, the website and the app). You’ve all been warned.

12 oz mouze

Our First Good Glimpse At Star Trek: Lower Decks

Our First Good Glimpse At Star Trek: Lower Decks

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We were complaining two weeks ago that Star Trek: Lower Decks was a month away and we still hadn’t seen a trailer for it. Looks like today was the day we got one.

Star Trek: Lower Decks brings the members of Starfleet into the medium of animation for the first time since Filmation did it back in the 70s. But it doesn’t follow anyone of high rank or importance…it concerns the crew of the fleet’s LEAST important Starship, the U.S.S. Cerritos — and even then, only the folks that work in its lower decks.

Ensign Mariner (played by Tawny Newsome), Ensign Boimler (played by Jack Quaid), Ensign Rutherford (voiced by Eugene Cordero) and Ensign Tendi (voiced by Noël Wells) are stuck doing the grunt work that no one else wants to degrade themselves with. The actual act of saving the day falls to the legitimate crew of the Cerritos’ bridge — Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis), Commander Jack Ransom (Jerry O’Connell), Lieutenant Shaxs (Fred Tatasciore) and Dr. T’Ana (Gillian Vigman).

The trailer depicts a lot more crazy hijinks than a typical Starfleet Ensign usually gets into, but if they just did their jobs all the time and stayed out of trouble, we wouldn’t have a show. Star Trek: Lower Decks, which has been in development since 2018, finally premieres August 6, with new episodes appearing each Thursday afterward on CBS All Access.

transformers: war on cybertron trilogy

Transformers: War On Cybertron Trilogy Lands On Netflix July 30

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The Transformers have been staples of animation nearly as long as they’ve been mainstays of the toy rack. They’ve starred in plenty of cartoons throughout their thirty-plus years of existence, some better than others. The best examples are the ones  made by people who take the lore seriously — which is why we’re optimistic about Rooster Teeth’s upcoming prequel trilogy, War On Cybertron.

Originally announced as three movies (hence the “trilogy”), War On Cybertron will instead be split up into six 22 minute episodes apiece. The first of these, subtitled Siege, will premiere on Netflix at the end of this month.

The Autobots are on Earth because civil war wrecked their home planet of Cybertron, and the Decepticons are here because they’re jerks who followed them. Rooster Teeth’s trilogy retells how that all went down. Turns out the fate of Optimus’s home planet came down to one decision…

The war that has torn apart their home planet of Cybertron is at a tipping point. Two leaders, Optimus Prime and Megatron, both want to save their world and unify their people, but only on their own terms. In an attempt to end the conflict, Megatron is forced to consider using the Allspark, the source of all life and power on Cybertron, to “reformat” the Autobots, thus “unifying” Cybertron. Outnumbered, outgunned, and under SIEGE, the battle-weary Autobots orchestrate a desperate series of counterstrikes on a mission that, if everything somehow goes right, will end with an unthinkable choice: kill their planet in order to save it.

F.J. DeSanto, who has written many Transformers comic books, served as showrunner for Transformers: War On Cybertron Trilogy: Siege. The six-part first chapter stars Jake Foushee as Optimus Prime, Jason Marnocha as Megatron, Linsay Rousseau as Elita-1, Joe Zieja as Bumblebee, Frank Todaro as Starscream, Rafael Goldstein as Ratchet, Keith Silverstein as Jetfire, and Todd Haberkorn as Shockwave.

Transformers: War On Cybertron Trilogy: Siege launches on Netflix July 30.

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