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Crunchyroll and Zoe Saldana Developing ‘Dark Star Squadron’

Actress’ Cinestar Pictures partners with the global anime brand to develop epic space opera; deal coincides with platform’s announcement they’ve surpassed 5 million subscribers and 120 million registered users worldwide.

Crunchyroll has announced the development of Dark Star Squadron, an epic animated space opera, in partnership with actress Zoe Saldana’s Cinestar Pictures. Todd Ludy (Voltron: Legendary Defender) is onboard to write with Saldana. Cisely Saldana and Mariel Saldana of Cinestar Pictures will serve as executive producers. Sonia A. Gambaro and Maytal Gilboa from Pollinate Entertainment are also producing. The announcement comes as the anime brand surpassed 5 million subscribers and 120 million registered users worldwide.

"The tremendous growth of our streaming service is indicative of the growing love for anime and its deserved spotlight in popular culture,” noted Crunchyroll general manager Joanne Waage. "Zoe and her team are bringing their own anime fandom to their storytelling, and we’re excited to be a part of it."

Dark Star Squadron follows the journey of four failing cadets who return from a joyride with a stolen starship to find their academy in ruins and everyone vanished. Now on their own, the ill-equipped heroes embark for the far side of the galaxy to find the missing and prove their worth.

“As true animation and anime fans ourselves, we are so excited for the opportunity to partner with Crunchyroll to bring Dark Star Squadron to a wide audience,” added Cinestar’s Zoe, Cisely, and Mariel Saldana. “We can’t wait for everyone to meet the crew and follow the journey of our unlikely heroes.”

“We’re elated to be working with such a talented creative team on the development of Dark Star Squadron, a new fantasy adventure series,” shared Crunchyroll head of development Sarah Victor. “We love working with creators who are passionate about telling stories through anime and we can’t wait to bring this interstellar epic to fans across the galaxy.”

Crunchyroll’s anime library contains than 1,000 titles and 30,000 episodes made available to audiences in more than 200 countries and territories. The global brand has more than five million subscribers, 120 million registered users and more than 60 million followers across social media. Crunchyroll also provides experiences to deepen fan engagement and community through social, events, games, consumer products, content distribution, content creation, and manga publishing.

Source: Crunchyroll