Adult Swim Resurrecting Three Cancelled Shows With Direct-To-Video Films
Several cancelled fan favorites from Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim block are making a comeback on Blu-ray, followed by HBO Max. Metalocalypse, The Venture Bros., and Aqua Teen Hunger Force are getting new movies with the streaming service in mind.
Per The Wrap, the three Adult Swim series, all of which were cancelled before their intended endings, are getting new life with HBO Max in mind. The movies will first release on Blu-ray and on-demand for a period of 90 days each before premiering on WarnerMedia’s streaming service and through Adult Swim itself. Per Adult Swim president Michael Ouweleen, the move from animated series to animated film “[gives] our talented series creators an opportunity to tell stories in new and interesting ways”. All three shows have a significant cult following, and fans have called for their renewal since they were cancelled.
Metalocalypse is getting a film that will reunite Brendan Small with Tommy Blacha, as the creative team will release a fifth album to join the preceding three Dethalbum installments for the four seasons of the series and an additional album for the television special The Doomstar Requiem. It’s not completely clear if the film will be the ending for the series (as a television film had previously been planned to end the series) or if additional movies are on the table, although the description indicates a sense of finality to the story. Here’s the synopsis:
The power-hungry Tribunal unveils their secret and deadly “Falconback Project” as the world grows in embattled chaos and the menacing Doomstar breaches the Earth’s atmosphere while the mysterious and twisted dissent of a band member threatens the future of Dethklok. Picking up directly after the heroic rescue of Toki Wartooth: Can Dethklok choose between their egos and the greater good of the world to embark on a gauntlet of dangers that will try their very souls and finally write the song that will be their salvation?
The Venture Bros. is getting a continuation with Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer returning, set to resolve several of the cliffhanger elements left by the seventh season finale. The show was greenlit for an eighth season that was cancelled following AT&T’s acquisition of WarnerMedia, though the creators were quick to reach out to HBO Max to try to ensure some kind of continuation would happen, and thankfully, the show seems to be picking up exactly where things left off. Here’s the synopsis:
In the The Venture Bros. movie, Doc’s latest invention will either bankrupt the Ventures or launch them to new heights, as Hank searches for himself, Dean searches for Hank, The Monarch searches for answers, and a mysterious woman from their pasts threatens to bring their entire world crashing down on them.
Aqua Teen Hunger Force, while not having a long-form plot unlike the other two shows, was cut short even though additional episodes were planned after its eleventh season. The series follows a group of anthropomorphic fast food superheroes in New Jersey who do anything but actually fight crime. The movie does not have a synopsis, but series creators Matt Maiellaro and Dave Willis will likely be involved.
Grant Davis is a freelance writer who has covered entertainment news for more than seven years. His articles have frequently appeared in Star Wars News Net as well as as other entertainment-related websites. As someone who grew up on Star Wars and comic book movies, he’s completely thrilled with the current era of genre entertainment.
