Classic arcade beat-’em-up Golden Axe is to become a 10-part animated TV series on Comedy Central.
Following the huge success of Sonic The Hedgehog and its sequels, Sega vowed to turn more of its properties into large and small-screen entertainments. Sticking to its word, along comes news that Golden Axe, the classic 1980s arcade beat-’em-up, is to become an animated series at Comedy Central.
The series will be co-created by Mike McMahan and Joe Chandler – the former being the creator of the hugely well-received Star Trek: Lower Decks.
According to Variety, which broke the story, the voice cast will include Liam McIntyre as the voice of Conan-like warrior Ax Battler, Lisa Gilroy as Tyris Flare and Matthew Rhys as the diminutive, axe-wielding Gilius Thunderhead.
Originally released in arcades in 1989, Golden Axe was a fantasy brawler that drew heavily on the likes of Tolkien and Robert E Howard. Taking control of one of the above-mentioned characters, players battled across a varied landscape fighting enemies of all sizes, all leading to the main villain, Death Adder.
Read more: 8 classic Sega games we’d like to see turned into movies
Interestingly, Golden Axe is among the eight Sega games on our film adaptation wishlist from last November. Our hopes that it would be directed by Denis Villeneuve have sadly been thwarted. There’s still every chance the series will contain where the “heroes are gathered around a campfire, boosting their energy by beating a bunch of harmless elves to death” will still happen, though.
Golden Axe will be a 10-episode series, and it’ll clearly have a comedic slant to it, at least if Variety’s character descriptions to go by (Gilius Thunderhead is described as a “grumpy battle dwarf with exceptionally poor hygiene and a chip on his shoulder”).
More on Golden Axe, including its air date, when we get it.
