(Image courtesy of Disney XD)
We might not be getting a Big Hero 6 sequel anytime soon. But it looks like we may get the next best thing.
The Hollywood Reporter has just broke the news that Disney Television Animation has green-lit production on an animated Big Hero 6 TV series, based on the 2014 Marvel Comics-inspired animated film of the same name.
Kim Possible creators Mark McCorkle and Bob Schooley are developing the show and serving as executive producers. Nick Fillipi (also a Kim Possible alum) will executive produce with McCorkle and Schooley and serve as supervising director. The show will premiere on Disney XD for an unspecified 2017 premiere date. It is unknown at this time if the series will be 2D or CG-animated
The show will pick up immediately after the events of the 2014 movie and will follow the adventures of 14-year-old tech genius Hiro Hamada and his robot Baymax. Specifically, the series will not only see the titular superhero team defending San Fransokyo from a wave of scientifically-enhanced villains, but it will also deal with Hiro Hamada’s social trials as a young prodigy attending the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology.
“Our colleagues at Walt Disney Animation Studios have created a brilliant new world, inspired by Marvel, with vivid, unique characters,” Gary Marsh, president and chief creative officer of Disney Channels Worldwide, said in a statement to THR. “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to further develop these characters into a world class animated series—full of fun, action and the kind of endearing storytelling that only Mark, Bob—and Baymax—can deliver.”
Putting aside my genuine excitement for a moment, the series do face an interesting challenge. As noted above, the 2014 film was only inspired by the obscure Marvel Comics title and said inspiration was only surface level—with the exception of the names and the team roster, everything else was reinvented from the ground up.
Unlike most of the current live-action superhero shows, the Big Hero 6 TV series won’t have a wealth of material to draw from. They do, however, have free reign to explore and develop the world of the film. Hopefully, that freedom will take the series to some interesting places, even without the Marvel connection at work.
What do you think? Are you excited for a Big Hero 6 TV series?
Edited by: Kelly Conley