Famed director joins Genius Brands’ new animated kid’s series, also being developed into live-action series and feature film spin-off.
Genius Brands International has just announced that John Landis, multi-award-winning director and producer of Trading Places, Animal House, Blues Brothers, Beverly Hills Cop 2, Coming to America, and the Honey I Shrunk The Kids TV series, is teaming with Arnold Schwarzenegger on Genius Brands’ new children’s animated series, Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten.
Landis will direct Schwarzenegger, who voices the lead role on the action-adventure comedy series co-created by the legendary Stan Lee as one of his final projects. He will also co-produce, along with China’s Alibaba Group, Stan Lee’s POW! Entertainment, and Schwarzenegger’s Oak Productions. Deadpool co-creator Fabian Nicieza developed the series, which was scripted by Steven Banks (SpongeBob SquarePants). Landis has also joined Genius Brands’ development team working on a live-action series and feature film spin-off.
“When one has a property of this magnitude, we will quickly pursue development of a live-action feature spin-off as we work to maximize the value of the brand,” said Genius Brands Chairman & CEO Andy Heyward. “Today’s announcement reflects a core element of our strategy for Genius Brands and Kartoon Channel! -- recruiting the industry’s top proven and emerging talent to ensure that we are steadily building a content offering that is second to none. We believe that this approach, in combination with our excellent distribution deals and licensing agreements, is a pathway for Genius Brands to drive strong revenue and create long-term shareholder value.”
Landis commented, “I am honored to work with Andy and Arnold for the first time in bringing Stan’s vision to life with this action-packed series infused with comedy and heart.”
Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten will debut on Genius Brands’ recently-launched Kartoon Channel! in Q1 2021. It will also be broadcast on Amazon Prime in the U.S., and Alibaba in China on its video streaming platform for kids, Youku. Concurrently, Genius Brands is actively marketing a full-scale global consumer products retail program anchored with toys, publishing, and apparel.
Source: Genius Brands
