Sega is delving deep into its enviable IP archive to bring the world an animated adaptation of its 1989 side-scrolling arcade beat-’em-up Golden Axe.
Sega’s Golden Axe series is being developed by Comedy Central, and promises to be a “hilarious and loving homage” to the medieval fantasy games. It’ll follow veteran warriors Ax Battler, Tyris Flare, and Gilius Thunderhead – all once again venturing forth to save Yuria from the evil giant Death Adder – and they’ll be joined by “inexperienced and underprepared” first-time adventurer Hampton Squib, who’s “dreamt of questing his entire life”.
Golden Axe will span ten animated episodes, with American Dad scribe Joe Chandler serving as show runner on the series. Additionally, Comedy Central has revealed a “star-studded” cast, which includes Matthew Rhys (The Americans), Danny Pudi (Community, Mythic Quest), Liam McIntyre (Spartacus), Carl Tart (Star Trek: Lower Decks), and Lisa Gilroy (Glamorous).
Pudi is Hampton Squib, with Rhys starring as Gilius Thunderhead, “a grumpy battle dwarf with exceptionally poor hygiene and a chip on his shoulder”. Gilroy is Tyris Flare, a “fearsome battle sorceress, deadly in a fight and even deadlier with her sharp wit”, while McIntyre is Ax Battler, “a barbarian warrior with a strict code of honour and sweet golden retriever demeanour”. As for Tart, he’ll play Golden Axe 3’s “badass humanoid panther” Chronos ‘Evil’ Lait.
Golden Axe – which, alongside a bunch of other classic Sega games, is poised to get a new chapter in the next few years – is just the latest a steadily growing line-up of Sega properties getting the adaptation treatment. Alongside Sonic the Hedgehog – which has been a massive cinematic hit, with a third, Keanu Reeves-starring movie instalment due this year – there’s a Streets of Rage film in the works, and Sega has also announced adaptations of Space Channel 5 and Comix Zone, although we haven’t heard a peep from those projects in a while.