Another one of the most popular toy lines of the ’80s is getting the big-screen treatment.
Following the successful international launch of Godzilla Vs. Kong over the weekend, director Adam Wingard inked a deal with Warner Bros. to helm ThunderCats. In an interview with Deadline, Wingard explains that ThunderCats has been a passion project since he was 6-years-old and that in high school he penned a 272-page screenplay that he hoped to one day develop into a feature film.
“Nobody on this planet knows or has thought as much about ThunderCats as I have,” Wingard told Deadline. “They gave me the reins. I saw this as an opportunity to do a new type of fantasy sci-fi spectacle film that people have never seen before. It’s got a rich mythology; the characters are fantastic. I want to do a ThunderCats film that takes you back to that ‘80s aesthetic. I don’t want to reinvent the way they look; I want them to look like ThunderCats.”
ThunderCats launched in the early 1980s as an animated series from Rankin-Bass alongside an extensive toy line from LJN. It’s been rebooted in animation a couple of times and the toys have been relaunched — mostly in collector-focused lines — several times over the past 20 years. Most recently, Super7 has found success with ThunderCats offerings across its Ultimates! and ReAction lines. The company is taking preorders for a $450 ThunderTank vehicle through April 2.
Warner Bros. previously explored a ThunderCats feature film back in 2009 but the project never moved forward.
