When Godzilla vs. Kong smashed into theaters back in 2021, news broke that Adam Wingard was set to direct a big-budget, live-action ThunderCats movie. Nostalgic fans of the '80s cartoon went wild...and then it was virtually nothing but complete radio silence for years.
Now that Wingard is back in the spotlight promoting his newest thriller, Onslaught, the same question from 2021 is surfacing all over again: will the iconic 80s after-school cartoon finally get its long-awaited big-screen movie, or is Lion-O destined to be stuck in development hell for good?
In a new interview, Wingard gave an honest update on the project, stating, "My career’s kind of bouncing around, so different things have taken precedence. But [ThunderCats is] still kicking around. I think it’s just a matter of finding time to really re-concentrate and re-engage with it."
"We did a new draft at the beginning of this year. It wasn’t too long ago, and then things got put on hold for this movie [Onslaught]. So I don’t really have any exciting updates. But it’s not dead. It lives. It’s just not the number one [thing] I’m working on right now."
ThunderCats has enjoyed a strong fan following ever since the animated series debuted in 1985 and has undergone several reboots, including a modernized 2011 reimagining from Cartoon Network that still resonates with fans to this day.
However, in his previous update on the project, Wingard confirmed that his take would be based on the '80s version, commenting, "My version is going to be 100% the ’80’s version. I’ve seen the rebooted anime one, but if I’m honest, the 80’s one that’s what Thundercats is to me, and that’s what I’d be creating."
Still, if Wingard’s latest comments are any indication, Lion-O, Cheetara, and the rest of the gang will likely have to wait as it doesn't sound like Wingard is journeying to Third Earth anytime soon.
To make matters trickier, Warner Bros. is holding the keys to the franchise.
With their massive merger with Paramount currently bogged down in legal limbo, the studio isn't exactly in a position to take a massive financial gamble on a nostalgic, high-budget risk.
It certainly doesn't help that another '80s action cartoon staple, Masters of the Universe, recently received its own live-action reimagining, which bombed big time for Amazon Prime Studios in theaters.
The film reportedly cost between $170-$200 million and only grossed $113.8 million worldwide - a huge loss for any major movie studio.
However, the live-action He-Man movie is reportedly performing very well on streaming. It's still the #1 movie on Prime Video after several weeks and that comes after Nielsen streaming data reported that the the film racked up 1.17 billion minutes of watch time in its very first week.
More recently, it was confirmed that Amazon Prime Video's upcoming live-action Voltron movie starring Henry Cavill would be skipping theaters altogether, as will Sydney Sweeney's Gundam movie.
Dropping a live-action ThunderCats flick straight onto HBO Max might actually be Warner Bros.' best move here, especially if they're hesitant to gamble $150M-plus on an '80s property at the box office.
Meanwhile, other ThunderCats projects appear to be percolating behind the scenes.
At June's Annecy Animation Festival, the studio quietly teased a brand-new animated ThunderCats project. From the sound of it, this is a completely separate venture from Wingard’s live-action/CGI hybrid, meaning we might be getting a full-blown franchise push on two totally different fronts.